Have the lending floodgates really opened?

/ Loanscape/
Have the lending floodgates really opened?

n June the Australian Prudential and Regulation Authority (APRA) announced its first relaxation of credit controls imposed on the banks since its imposition of much tighter controls in 2017. These had been imposed to wind back a ramp in lending to property investors, to put a ceiling on interest-only lending, and to force the banks to more thoroughly consider individual borrower’s living expenses.

From APRA’s perspective, this has had the intended effect on the property market. The rampant growth in capital city property prices was controlled, and risks to the financial system implicit in highly geared investors, and even owner-occupiers holding interest-only loans in a property market “bubble”.

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Through a Different Lens

/ LOANSCAPE/
Through a Different Lens

The peak body for Mortgage Brokers, the MFAA has issued a strong defence of the current lending industry structure following bad publicity emanating from the Royal Commission into the banking sector. Whilst nearly all of the bad behaviour exposed by the Commission has fallen directly at the feet of the banks, some of the major banks have tried to use the commission as an opportunity to wrest back control of the lending market.

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Brittanica or Mark Twain?

/ LOANSCAPE/
Brittanica or Mark Twain?

While the arrangement of finance is central to the process of mortgage broking it is so much more than filling in forms and choosing the lowest initial interest rate. A good broker helps their client with the overall process of buying a property. They act as advocate, project manager, assist with the assessment of financial risk, and liaise with solicitors, real estate agents and the bank's back office to make settlements happen on time.

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How Gen Y Can Enter the Property Market with Less Risk

/ LOANSCAPE/
How Gen Y Can Enter the Property Market with Less Risk

The current housing price boom is leaving behind a generation of aspiring first home buyers, most of whom fall under that ubiquitous tag "Gen Y" (as if that whole generation is in identical circumstances anyway!). They may not realise it but this generation of aspiring investors is on the threshold of redefining the Australian relationship with real property.

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