NEWS
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By Anita Marshall
March 31, 2009
April 2009
Anita
March was a very quiet month for me socially - most of my plans were cancelled due to health issues whi
Workwise - the lenders all announced early this week that they are reducing the % that they will be lending people against property values. Some of the lenders are yet to make their full announcements but it would seem that most lenders are going to prefer loan sizes with a maximum of 90% of a particular property value. If you need a higher % than this for a property purchase then I suggest you make an urgent appointment to see one of our mortgage planners to get your application assessed as soon as possible.
Happy Easter to everyone - hope you enjoy the break.
Jacqui
in March I attended an investors expo in Sydney as well as investors meetings at Cardiff, East Maitland & Raymond Terrace. Investors at the moment are extremely active and although we are complaining about the banks turn-around times, mine are not far behind due to an overload of applications I currently have on the go. My mission for April is to get everyone's loans submitted approved and my paperwork completely up to date. I do apologise for anyone that has been waiting a little longer than normal for my services. Sorry my column is so short this month - too many other things to do...........(a
Leanne
We have still been absolutely flat out with first home buyers and investors snapping up property at record levels. The lenders are very slowly getting through their overload of applications. Time frames for approvals with lenders at the moment are Westpac - four working days, Commonwealth Bank - 12 working days and hoping to be back to 4 days by Easter (see below for a more detailed updated), St George - 14 working days & the rest are around 7 working days. We suggest that if you have your heart set on a property and wish to exchange before you get formal approval on your loan that you ensure you have a cooling off period written into your contract and make sure that is at least 21 days.
I have this fantastic recipe to share with everyone. In keeping with the finance theme it has ‘economy' and ‘budget' in mind, i.e. time and grocery bill! With soccer season upon us and my 3 kids all signed up and training 2 nights a week each I went searching for some easy meals - the notes by this one said: ‘it looks and tastes like you have spent hours in the kitchen when it takes only minutes" and it's true.
"Cheat's Lasagne" serves 6
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 x 400g cans whole tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 teas white sugar
- ½ cup basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 800g fresh beef tortellini
- 250g mozzarella cheese, thickly sliced
- Small basil leaves and basil to serve (optional)
Preheat oven to 210deg C no fan & 200deg C fan-forced. Lightly grease 5cm deep, 22cm x 30cm baking dish
Heat the oil in a saucepan - add onion and garlic, cook 3 mins or until onion is soft. Add tomatoes and sugar and bring to the boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile cook pasta in large saucepan as per pack instructions. Drain and spoon into prepared dish. Spoon over tomato sauce and stir to coat tortellini.
Top with mozzarella, bake uncovered for 20 mins until bubbling around the edges. Sprinkle with extra basil leaves and pepper if desired.
Enjoy!!!
Marion
My brother Ross, and his family had Harrison's 3rd birthday and he got spoilt by family and friends from the east coast of Aus for a change! We have done plenty of fishing - both beach and off the rocks (locally - great fishing and the kids love it. I even caught a flathead off Stockton beach!)
Work has been REALLY BUSY and very challenging. Have had extra training on the Flex management system we use - hopefully be able to put it to good use.
We are having some valuation issues with properties lately. The valuers seem to be particiularlly conservative at the moment which can cause valuation issues resulting in lower approval amounts. If your property is due to be valued we suggest making it look as attractive as possible on the day. First impressions do count - most valuers are asked to value a property as if it was to be sold "as is" so if your property looks appealing on the day of valuation its likely to be higher than if the lawn needs mowing and the interior looks like a bomb has hit. Every little bit counts.
Housing undersupply to hit 431,000 by 2028
Thursday, 12 March 2009
A government assessment of housing supply has confirmed that Australia is suffering a severe housing shortage that will worsen noticeably should current construction activity not improve.
The National Housing Supply Council's State of Supply Report released yesterday estimates that Australian housing suffered an undersupply of 85,000 dwellings in 2008.
The Council estimates this figure to rise to 203,000 by 2013 and 431,000 by 2028, which would put extreme pressure on house prices already under strain by the current undersupply.
Master Builders Australia CEO Wilhelm Harnisch said reducing taxes such as stamp duties and developer charges, speeding up development applications and increasing land supply would all be critical measures needed to address this shortage.
Housing market poised for growth
BIS Shrapnel
Friday, 13 March 2009
Rising unemployment and the expiry of the increased First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) will not affect strong growth in first home buyer sector, according
to BIS Shrapnel.
Brokers can also expect to see strong growth in investment activity.
Speaking yesterday at BIS Shrapnel's Sydney business forecast conference,
Jason Anderson, BIS Shrapnel senior economist ,said that the fundamentals
are in place for an overall upswing in the property market.
Severe under supply, rising demand and sustained low interest rates would
spark an upswing in construction towards the end of the year, he said.
"Unemployment could rise a lot further than the 7 per cent mark and we'll still have a strong housing market,' he said.
The faltering economy and rising unemployment would not impact this growth; "if anything it would stimulate demand as the low interest rate environment
would continue".
Mr Anderson said that first home buyer activity will remain strong and "only
a small percentage of first home buyers have been active so far".
"We can expect to see around 180,000 first home buyers this year".
First home buyers have recently flooded back into the market following the introduction of beefed-up first home buyer incentives.
ABS data this week showed that 26.5 per cent of all home buyers in January
were first home buyers.
There were around 400,000 25 to 34 year olds currently still living at home,
Mr Anderson said, and low interest rates, pent up demand and the relative cost of renting to buying would see demand from this market segment
continue.
Increased buying activity among first home buyers will then spur a recovery
in other market segments with huge potential for the investment market to fire up.
With sustained low rates and further growth in rental yields forecast
investment activity is tipped to be the next growth market, he said.
"Fixed rates of around 5 per cent will bring a huge number of investors out of the woodwork
Backlog Blitz - 3,121 files assessed in one day
Commonwealth Bank conducted a 'Backlog Blitz' on Saturday 28 March 2009 as part of its strategy to improve turnaround times.
'Backlog Blitz' took place at all our processing centres across the country in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Throughout the day more than 160 credit staff decisioned 3,121 files.
The credit staff were supported by Mortgage Services which worked an amazing 4,582 hours over the weekend of Saturday 28 and Sunday 29March and nationally prepared 3,022 mortgage documents and certified 940 customer files. This is a remarkable achievement and has made a significant impact on reducing the amount of work to be actioned in Mortgage Services to a much more sustainable level.
Third Party Banking Relationship Managers also made themselves available to help process files.
Kathy Cummings, Executive General Manager Third Party Banking, said "I am sure many of you will find notifications in your email box and I suggest you log on to the Adviser website to check the status of your loans.
"This was a fantastic demonstration of team spirit and collaboration between Credit, Mortgage Services and Third Party Banking. We have made significant inroads into the number of current loans in progress and with extra efforts and more overtime we are optimistic to return to normal SLAs by Easter."