The weekly round-up of the biggest news stories from across Momentum Media’s property titles for the week ending 11 September.
Welcome to The Adviser’s weekly round-up of the stories that are getting big reads across Momentum Media’s property titles: The Adviser, Mortgage Business, Real Estate Business, Smart Property Investment and nestegg.
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We hope it helps inform you of the biggest issues shaping the mortgage and property markets.
Borrowers turn to bank of mum and dad in HomeBuilder confusion
Many borrowers looking to build new homes with the HomeBuilder grant are relying on borrowed funds from family and friends due to the structure of the HomeBuilder scheme.
While the grants have been popular with borrowers, its progress has been stymied by a lack of lenders accepting the grant as funds to complete, according to the broking industry
The issue largely comes down to the fact that lenders have not been made appointed agents for the grant, unlike with the First Home Owners Grant, where they can manage the funds.
Half of deferrals to be reviewed in coming weeks
Approximately 450,000 borrowers are approaching the expiry of their deferral arrangements, which are set to be reviewed over the coming weeks, the Australian Banking Association has revealed.
15k customers unable to restart repayments: ANZ
ANZ has estimated that around 15,000 of its mortgage customers may not ever be able to resume repayments, due to the ongoing economic impact of the COVID crisis.
Speaking before the House of Representatives standing committee on economics on Friday (4 September), ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott said that, based on conversations with customers so far, around 15,000 of the 84,000 home loan customers currently receiving repayment deferrals were unlikely to be able to resume repayments for the foreseeable future.
REIV slams Andrews’ renewed restrictions
Following the announcement by the Premier, the REIV issued a statement expressing its frustration with the decision, which it said will “effectively keep the property market shut down for an uncertain period”.
“The continuation of the ban on inspections means that people who desperately need to buy or lease a property will have to make that decision ‘sight unseen’,” the REIV’s statement said.
Alarm bells raised on rise of distressed sales
The Victorian property market is set to see a greater number of distressed sales as renewed restrictions continue throughout the state, according to the Ray White Group.
The real estate group said it is deeply concerned for many of its customers following the announcement that private inspections of properties will not be allowed until 26 October.
Eview Group joins forces with Melbourne agency
The group has partnered with Melbourne’s Commercial Real Estate Group, founded by Robert Renner.
The move sees Eview break its scope into the commercial sector, while Commercial Real Estate Group will be bolstered by stronger backend support systems.
East coast affordability woes won’t impact WA
First home buyers struggling to crack the east coast property market are being advised to look west as Western Australia once again tops housing affordability, according to new research.
Brisbane property market update – August 2020
Brisbane continues to show its resilience to price falls throughout this pandemic, and we are seeing more strength in the rental market as well, writes Melinda Jennison.
The latest Corelogic Data shows overall dwelling values in Brisbane declined -0.1 per cent, but houses were stable and the decline came from the unit sector, down -0.3 per cent. Since January, Brisbane house values have reported an increase of 1.6 per cent, despite the pandemic, and yet unit values have slipped -1.8 per cent.
For more analysis and insight into these stories, tune in to Momentum Media’s new live talk show on Facebook, What’s Making Headlines, featuring Momentum Media’s executive editor - real estate, Phillip Tarrant, and business coach and Real Estate Gym trainer Tom Panos on Thursday afternoons.