Posts Tagged ‘interest rates’
Big bank mortgages vs the smaller lenders
I was recently asked to provide some perspective on whether to use the Big 4 for your home loan, or a smaller lender, by online news outlet The New Daily. Like most things there is no clear-cut answer as it all depends on your circumstances! You always need to consider your own requirements and what…
Read MoreSydney property market could drive investors to the Hunter region
Winter is in full swing and despite the cold winds that have blown across New South Wales and the heavy snow as low as 600 metres, this cold doesn’t seem to have slowed the Sydney property market. Domain recently reported a weekend clearance rate at auction of 79.7% – admittedly the lowest clearance rate recorded…
Read MoreDon’t let interest rate talk scare you!
Since the last RBA decision to keep rates on hold (Tuesday, 2 June 2015), we have heard that the Australian economy has grown quite strongly over the first quarter of 2015. Strong economic growth, if sustained, could lead to an increase in rates. However, the ASX futures market, armed with these positive economic growth numbers,…
Read MoreEntering uncharted interest rate territory
After the most recent reduction by the Reserve Bank in Australia we are now entering into uncharted interest rate territory. Given we have never seen variable home loan interest rates at such low levels, we though it would be useful to show you what this means in dollar terms. Some variable mortgage holders will now…
Read MoreWhat? A housing bubble
The Core Logic RP Data research blog recently posted a very interesting comparison between the 2001-2004 boom and the 2012-2014 boom. The following chart demonstrates that home value growth is significantly lower this time around. However, the above chart shows a national median. The obvious next question is how each capital or state went. As…
Read MoreThe RBA Form Guide
The RBA’s cash rate decision is always handed down at 2.30pm on the first Tuesday of each month. This means the November cash rate decision always occurs half an hour before the big race. Every year for the last five years Smartline likes to check the form guide for the RBA’s November decision and this…
Read MoreTime to put your hand out
The start of the new financial year is upon us. Now is the time to put in place, if you haven’t already, a plan to help you reach those financial goals, whatever they may be. In order to move forward, it is great to look back and see what can be done better going forward.…
Read MoreThe fixed v variable interest rates decision
As you can see from the chart below, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept the cash rate on hold for another month when it met on the 4th February 2014. This decision has largely been made because the inflation rate is steady. Mortgage Brokers are always asked by clients and media representatives to provide…
Read MoreAre 3 fixed rates at the bottom of the cycle?
Here at Smartline we have noticed an interesting pattern in one of our recent interest rate charts. This is slightly dangerous territory because the past is obviously not a prediction of future rate directions. However, this pattern does seem to apply at least since the beginning of 2009 (when we commenced this data series). The…
Read MoreWill interest rates go lower?
As you have no doubt heard probably many times since Tuesday, the RBA has held the cash rate at 2.50% p.a. for a further month. What we are more interested in is where interest rates are heading from here? As on Tuesday, the ASX futures market was estimating that there may be one more cut…
Read More