After all Westpac has pulled itself from near bankruptcy in the early nineties to be a contender Australia’s biggest bank. Mainly at the cost of its mortgage holders, during the Global Financial Crisis, and the “Banana smoothie” scandal. [Free publicity is good publicity, and who doesn't like a banana smoothie Gail, right?] So there’s a missed branding opportunity. “The Banana Smoothie Bank”. [smoothie in more ways than one it would seem]
Don’t buy a new home as your first home.
If you were buying a home 10 years ago, this would not make sense. But things are different today. Land prices are killing new home sales and only people that have made equity in the first home can build new today.
So my first advice to you is to buy a bargain established home. There are plenty to choose from and they are below replacement cost. You get more for less, and in less time.
With house prices falling and retailers struggling we don’t need to have another mortgage or interest rate increase. Homeowners can’t afford it and home buyers won’t buy homes it interest rates rise again any time soon.
In that article I have suggested that Interest rates rises concerns for Australian home buyers and homeowners need to be addressed by the RBA and the Government about bank policies in relaxed lending.
There is evidence that any mortgage rate increase will lead to mortgage stress for a lot of homeowners who has overcommitted of mortgage finance, either recently, or by buying at the top of the real estate market.
More good news for mortgage payment strapped home owners! As we predicted in May 2010, the Reserve Bank of Australia will likely leave official interest rates on hold till later in the year or even till February 2011.
The board of the Reserve Bank of Australia will be meeting today in Adelaide [in the still striking building across Victoria Square from where my business used to be] to consider its decision.
