Ray White Redland Bay

Many media outlets have not only called the bottombut also signs of growth again in the property market. What’s happening in our market? Of course, many cities, regions and towns haven’t been affected as badly as the same media have touted, reminding us of the disparate markets we live, invest and rent in. The benefits of the loosened lending limits recently announced by APRA are buoying the buyer market. The guidelines previously meant banks had to assess a borrower’s ability to repay their mortgage if interest rates rose to a whopping 7 per cent; a fair way fromwhere they are now, given two recent and consecutive rate cuts. This relaxation is tipped to give more Australians the opportunity to buy a home or refinance their loans. As an example, if a bank used an assessment rate of 6 per cent instead of the current 7.25 per cent, a family of four with an average household income of almost $110,000 would be able to borrow $77,000 more. If you’ve been stuck with your current lender and unable to refinance due to serviceability guidelines, there may now be sharper rates available to you. Or extra lending to buy that house you didn’t think you could quite get to. Give us a call if you’d like to prepare your home for the Spring season. We are seeing more keen buyers venturing out and auction clearance rates correcting to the levels of two years ago. Jesse James Principal, Ray White Redland Bay