Empower your property journey with expert insights on loans, refinancing, and investments in My Finance Agent's monthly newsletter.
The stories that caught our eye this month cover home loans, lender's mortgage insurance, and the property market:
My Finance Agent is nominated for the 2024 Local Business Champion Awards!
When should you buy?
Is Buy Now Pay Later hurting your credit rating?
First Home Buyer loans rise 12.9%
UNSW Rabbitohs Junior State Cup Competition
Read more below.
Should you buy now or wait for a potential rate cut?
Many economists believe the Reserve Bank will start cutting interest rates in the final quarter of 2024. So if you're thinking about entering the market, should you buy now or wait for those potential rate cuts to occur?
To answer that question, it can be helpful to consult long-term data. During the decade to January 2024, Australia's median property rose 80.1%, according to PropTrack. Prices rose faster in the combined regions than the combined capital cities (92.5% vs 75.7%), while house growth exceeded unit growth (89.4% v 44.4%). But the general trend for all these categories was the same – up.
Domain's chief of research & economics, Nicola Powell, believes buyers should take a longer-term view and not get too hung up about how the market is currently performing.
PropTrack Home Price Index January 2024
Capital Cities
“When you’re purchasing a property, it’s for a long-term investment and you are going to ride multiple property cycles, and that’s how you build financial wealth. So if I would give any advice, it would be to buy when it’s right for you. Housing markets are complex and often impossible to predict.”
Regional Areas
Source: PopTrack
Is buy now pay later hurting your credit rating?
Ultimately, whether to buy now depends on your situation and goals. For some, now will be the right time; for others, waiting will be better. We are happy to have a chat and crunch some numbers for you, so we can present personalised loan options for your situation.
Buy now pay later (BNPL) services can be a great way to spread the cost of a purchase, but it could also affect your ability to get a loan.
The number of Australians using buy now, pay later (BNPL) platforms has grown at rocket pace over the last years, along with the number of BNPL services on offer. At the time of writing, there are around 17 different BNPL providers operating in Australia.
Read more
First home buyers loan rise by 12.9%
There's been a significant increase in first home buyer activity over the past year, based on the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
There were a total of 9,491 owner-occupier first home buyer mortgages issued across Australia in December 2023, which was 12.9% higher than the year before.
First home buyer activity rose in six of the eight states and territories, with Queensland and Tasmania being the exceptions to the rule.
While it can be challenging to buy your first home, this data shows it’s not impossible. Here are four tips to get on the property ladder:
Look for ways to decrease your spending
Check whether you're eligible for the First Home Guarantee or Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee
Consider asking your parents or another relative to guarantee your home loan (so you can drastically reduce or even eliminate your deposit requirement)
Contact us, so we can explain your options and coach you through the process
Junior State Cup Competition
My Finance Agent x UNSW Rabbitohs Touch
As a proud sponsor of UNSW Rabbitohs Touch Club, we recently held a competition to support their Junior State Cup, reimbursing one lucky winner's accommodation costs. With over 40 entries, the excitement was palpable! Stay tuned to our socials to find out about more competitions!
Take the next step
Talk with one of our business finance experts who can guide you through the process and help find the best solution tailored to your needs.
Call us on (02) 8313-8400 or request a call back.
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