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Spring is here and the election is over

"Let's get on with it" has been the sentiment from lots of people I've talked to in the last couple of weeks.  With the election result we have stability with interest rates and lending policy and now that spring is well and truly here we're starting to see more properties on the market and more selling.The good news is that interest rates are holding steady and the Reserve Bank has indicated that we are unlikely to see a rise in the Official Cash Rate until the second quarter of 2015.This ...

Buying at Auction

I read an interesting article on Properazzi this week that over 50% of new listings in Auckland are for properties to be sold at auction.Vendors can choose to sell at auction for a number of reasons.  Generally if they're unsure of the market value of if there is high demand and they want to make sure they get the best price, from a number of interested parties.Now buying at auction has some different finance requirements compared to the normal process of making an offer and negotiating to ...

We examine how the election will effect Housing Affordability

With the election less than a week away I thought it would bea good idea to cover off some of the housing policies of the differentpolitical parties so that you could see what effect each might have on Interest Rates and also how affordable homes may be with different incentives.Below is a brief summary.  Further detail on policies are available on the websites of the particular parties.  Overall there seems to be a move toward building more houses and helping make purchasing easier fo...

Strange time for interest rates

It has now been a month since Reserve Bank Governor, Graeme Wheeler, increased the Official Cash Rate by a further .25% (now 1% higher than it was 12 months ago) but we haven't seen any major shifts in interest rates since then.Naturally all of the major lenders increased their Floating/Variable rates by the same as the increase in the OCR, which has now become standard practice. However fixed rates haven't moved and we're starting to see some good discounts on the shorter term rates.The reason ...

New Mortgage Repayment Calculator

We're always keen to improve the service we offer our clients and we've just added a "Repayment Calculator" to our website as this was the number one thing requested by our clients. For those of you who are regular visitors to the site for updates on Home Loans you will have noticed a slight change to navigation bar of our website. On the top right hand side we now have a link that says "calculator". The calculator is simple to use just follow these easy steps... Enter the amount you wish to b...

Good news for landlords

It didn't make the headlines but there was some good news for property investors last week. The Reserve Bank have "delayed" the introduction of a new rule which would force banks to charge property investors with 5 or more rental properties a higher interest rate. For most the mere suggestion of this may come as a surprise since it went largely unnoticed when it was first reported earlier in the year.   As with many ideas that have been suggested to reduce the risk of a housing bubble the d...

What other costs are there to buying a home?

Aside from the major expense of actually paying for the house and land you're buying there are a number of other costs associated with buying a home. We have outlined the most common costs below. Before we get in to the list I'd just like to remind you that my service is free. The banks pay me to provide advice on their products and to arrange for the lending of their funds. I'll find you the best option from a range of NZ's best lenders.It's also worth noting that I will negotiate the best poss...

A brand new house for 5% deposit?

With the Reserve Bank imposing restrictions on borrowers with less than 20% deposit, in October last year, I have been working hard to find ways that people in these situations can still buy a house.Some borrowers can still get a home loan with less than 20% deposit but the amount that a bank can lend with this LVR has been limited.  Making it much more difficult.But this is where the exception for a brand new house comes in....Earlier this year the Reserve Bank decided to make brand new ho...

Official Cash Rate Increase - Interest rates on the rise?

Those of you with Floating Home Loan's will be feeling a little bit of extra pain with the increase in the Official Cash Rate today by .25% to 3.25%. We're already getting notifications that the floating rate will be increasing at almost all lenders by .25% which will see the advertised variable rate at around 6.50%.(If that is the rate you're paying, get in touch with us. You should be getting a discount and we can arrange this with you very easily to save some money)That increase will see you ...

Interest rate update - May 2014

Nothing ever stands still when it comes to interest rates and the last couple of weeks have been no different with minor tweaks from most banks.With the Official Cash Rate increasing last month the banks were tipped to increase fixed interest rates again but these have remained steady and we have even seen decreases in some places. The reason for this is that the trading banks have already increased their fixed rates considerably since the end of 2013, because of predicted rises in the OCR this ...

0% Home Loan!! Is this April Fool's?

Some of you may have noticed ASB advertising a home loan for 0% interest for the first month, that's no April Fools joke, they're really offering an interest free home loan. However this loan is likely to make fools out of a number of people who don't consider the true cost of the lending when taking up the promo.Much like in 2013 when the banks were offering free TV's and iPad's, people can be bought by the banks with these gimmicks which seem to be an amazing deal on the face of things. Some o...

What better gift to give on Valentines Day

Adam - "I know this is going to get me in trouble with my Fiance but as a lawyer, she is pragmatic and will appreciate the commonsense of this post, even if it is not romantic!"With Valentines Day coming along tomorrow, there is no better gift for the loved one in your life than to save them money on their home loan. Perhaps it's the mortgage you share with a husband or wife or you happen to have a crush on someone at work. Home loan savings keep putting money in your pocket for years, long afte...

Home Ownership Rates Drop

There was an interesting article posted on Stuff.co.nz this week. Although it was quite short and focused only on Auckland, the point it was making is quite valid.Home ownership rates are dropping, a lower percentage of people own their own homes than in the past, and that concerns us. The recent Reserve Bank changes to increase the required deposit for most borrowers to 20% is only going to further reduce the opportunities for people to get in to their first home... but all is not lost....

Time to fix?

The simple answer to this is, yes. For those of you who know me you will know that we always advocate fixed interest rates and a structured repayment plan for people earning a fixed income, which is most people. However, with an increase in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) forecast for March, which will lead to an increase in floating rates, you definitely want to be reviewing any floating lending that you have and making sure you are not facing a large increase in your monthly payments due to the i...

Options for less than 20% deposit

The deposit restrictions put in place by the Reserve Bank have been well publicised but have often lacked the detail of what options are there for potential buyers. As you will see below there are a number of options.First of all, we want to dispel the myth that it is impossible to borrow money if you have less than 20% deposit, this simply is not the case. It is much more difficult as the banks are now limited to how much they can lend to people with lower deposits. They can lend about half as ...

Interest rates increase

We have had increases in interest rates from a couple of banks this week with word that others are likely to follow shortly. The 12 month and 24 month rates have been hardest hit with increases of .55% and .70% respectively from the special rates previously offered.As we mentioned in our last newsletter, being proactive and fixing your loan ahead of rate increases is the best way to put you in control of the cost of your home loan. There are still good options available but we are likely to see ...