Leading mortgage broker Loan Market Group has urged first time property buyers to be well prepared when they try to obtain housing finance after finding one in three enquiries will not fit the current lending criteria.
Loan Market Group Chief Operating Officer Dean Rushton said tighter lending rules which requires genuine savings contributions of around 5.0 per cent towards the property purchase was creating major hurdles for new buyers.

He said other loan applicants who passed all the lending criteria were being rejected because they had few assets.

“The major lenders are in a competitive position where they can pick and chose who they want to lend money to and there is little room to move for applicants who do not fit the box,” Mr Rushton said.
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Lower interest rates and flat house prices have created the ideal situation for first home buyers to enter the property market, a leading housing group says.

A survey by the Housing Industry Association (HIA) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) found housing was at its most affordable in seven years during the March quarter.

HIA chief executive Chris Lamont says “there has never been a better time to enter into home ownership”, despite the economic downturn.

Mr Lamont said first home buyers had flooded back to the market due to the boost to the first home owners’ grant and significant builder discounts on house and land packages.
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Static house prices and low interest rates have improved housing affordability for first time buyers to their best levels in seven years, a survey says.

The Housing Industry Association-Commonwealth Bank of Australia housing affordability index for first home buyers rose 22.3 index points in the March quarter to 175.8 points.

“This took housing affordability to levels not seen since 2002,” said the report, published on Monday.

“Further drops in interest rates and moderation in house prices in some regions drove continued improvement in housing affordability.”
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