Would-be first homebuyers who opted to wait out the buying frenzy spurred by the federal government’s grant boost last year may now be kicking themselves.

Data released on Monday showed housing affordability tanked in the final three months of 2009, retreating to levels not seen since 2008.

Housing Industry Association (HIA) senior economist Ben Phillips said first homebuyers had a small window of favourable affordability conditions to enter the market last year.

“The window is now closing,” Mr Phillips said in releasing the latest affordability report on Monday.

The quarterly HIA/Commonwealth Bank of Australia survey showed affordability plunged 18.4 per cent in the December quarter and was 22.3 per cent lower than 12 months earlier.
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First home buyers shied away from the housing market in November as government grants waned and rising mortgage rates took their toll.

And home buyers will have another rate rise to budget for following the central bank’s board meeting on February 2, economists say.

New loans taken out by owner occupiers fell 5.6 per cent to a seasonally adjusted 59,516 in November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said on Tuesday.

It was the second monthly fall in a row and the smallest number of new housing finance commitments in a month since February 2009.

ANZ economist Alex Joiner says new mortgages were down as first home buyers departed the property market.
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The number of home loans surged in September after two straight months of decline, as first home buyers flocked to the market ahead of the October 1 roll back of the first home owner grant.

But the reprieve may be temporary, with economists expecting a sharp pull-back in the market in October and November as potential home owners grapple with rising interest rates.

Australian housing finance commitments for owner-occupied housing rose 5.1 per cent in September, seasonally adjusted, to 65,505 the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said on Monday.

This compares to a 1.9 per cent fall in August and 1.6 per cent fall in July. The September figure also beat market expectations of a three per cent rise.

Total housing finance by value was also strong, rising by 4.8 per cent in September, seasonally adjusted, to $23.847 billion - it’s highest level since June 2007 when it reached a record $24.531 billion.
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It started as a way of showing their proud families back in Serbia and around Australia their successful mortgage broking business, located on Sydney’s northern beaches.

But for Serge Scekic and Jim Sharif, their “Fans of Aussie Dee Why” Facebook site has become a business tool with their very first home loan being sold via the social networking site.

Serge Scekic said the customer sent a “friend request” to him and then emailed asking about Aussie Dee Why’s service.

“He said he was a First Home Buyer and was interested in getting pre?approval for a loan,” Serge said.
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First home buyers continue to boost the demand for new housing loans, supported by government grants and low interest rates, economists say.

Housing finance commitments for owner-occupied housing rose 0.9 per cent in April, seasonally adjusted, to 60,395 the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

It was the seventh monthly rise in a row, and the highest number of home loan approvals since February 2008.

The result in April was below the market forecast of a rise of 1.5 per cent, however.

The number of loans to buy new homes fell 0.5 per cent, while commitments to build dwellings were up 1.3 per cent.
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First home buyers can use the extension of the boost to the federal government’s grant to pull their finances into better shape before applying for loans, a mortgage broker says.

Resi Head of consumer advocacy Lisa Montgomery said the additional six months extension to the boost for the first home owners grant (FHOG) will allow borrowers to build their savings to meet the requirement of lenders.

“The FHOG scheme - boosted or not - should be viewed by borrowers as a bonus to supplement their own funds, as those savings show lenders that the borrower is financially disciplined enough to commit to the rigours of a mortgage,” Ms Montgomery said.
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The Federal Government should follow Victoria’s lead and offer more incentives in next week’s Budget for first home buyers, according to Australia’s largest independent mortgage broker Loan Market Group.

Loan Market Group Executive Director John Kolenda said the Victorian Government should be commended for boosting the amount offered to people buying new homes from $5,000 to $11,000 in metropolitan areas and from $8,000 to $15,500 in the regions.

Mr Kolenda said the Federal Government’s decision to double the First Home Buyers Grant to $14,000 for established homes and $21,000 for newly built properties had supported the Australian property market during the global economic crisis.

He said Loan Market Group would like the Government to extend the boosted grant in its present form for another six months beyond its scheduled June 30 expiry.
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Leading mortgage broker Loan Market Group has called for more measures in the May 12 Budget to boost the property market after the Reserve Bank of Australia today left official interest rates on hold at 3.0 per cent.

Loan Market Group Executive Director John Kolenda said the residential real estate sector faced uncertain times with the expanded First Home Buyers Grant scheduled to end on June 30.

Mr Kolenda said the boosted grant and the big reductions in home mortgage rates over the past six months had maintained some buoyancy in the residential real estate sector despite established house prices dropping 6.7 per cent in the year to March, 2009.
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Australians would prefer the coming Federal Budget to have measures to boost the property market rather than more income tax cuts, a national survey has found.

An online poll conducted by Australia’s leading independent mortgage broker Loan Market Group found more than 60 per cent of respondents wanted the May 12 Budget to encourage investment in residential real estate.

Thirty two per cent of those surveyed hoped the boosted First Home Buyers Grant would be extended beyond its scheduled June 30 expiry date, while 30 per cent supported incentives to encourage investors back into the property market.
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Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures for owner occupiers and first homebuyers especially have shown improvement over each month since October 2008. February 2009 is no exception, demonstrating that Australians’ demand for housing finance continues to grow at impressive levels.

Overall, the value of housing finance commitments for all dwellings increased by 1.3%, after an increase of 0.7% in January and 5.9% in December.
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Continued strength in first home buying delivered a record month of mortgage sales in March according to AFG, Australia’s largest mortgage broker.

The AFG Mortgage Index shows the company arranged a record $800 million of mortgages for first home buyers, comprising 28% of all new mortgages in March.

This pushed total sales for the company to $3.1 billion - it’s best month ever, 18% ahead of a boom February and 48% higher than for March 2008.
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New figures released by Suncorp today show mortgage holders are banking on interest rates dropping further with fixed rate home loans falling to their lowest levels on record.

Suncorp General Manager of Banking Terry Wasmund said new mortgage holders had all but abandoned fixed rate home loans over the past 12 months.

Statistics show that in February 2008, 42% of home borrowings by Suncorp customers were taken out on fixed rates. In February 2009 that figure plummeted to an unprecedented 1%.
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More than 42,000 people have taken up the federal government’s first home buyers grant since extra money was poured into the scheme last October, new figures reveal.

Under the government’s $1.5 billion first home buyers boost, the first home buyers grant was doubled from $7,000 to $14,000.

Those first home buyers who purchase a new home receive an extra $7,000 to take the total cost of government assistance to $21,000.
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A rise in the number loans to first home buyers to the highest levels in 18 years, driven by low interest rates and generous government grants, supports an ongoing recovery in the housing sector, economists say.

First home buyers represented 26.5 per cent of all loans written for owner-occupied housing in January, an improvement from 25.7 per cent in December.

It was the largest proportion recorded since the start of the data series in 1991 and the third consecutive monthly rise, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday show.
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The Australian dream of owning a home is more affordable now than it has been for five years following lower interest rates and greater government subsidies, a report says.

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) and Commonwealth Bank First Home Buyer Affordability index improved by 39.2 per cent to 153.6 points in the December quarter, from 110.3 index points for the September quarter.

First home buyers last had housing this affordable in the March quarter of 2003, the index showed.
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