Weekly wrap - Friday 17th September
What's trending in lending continues...
It’s cheaper to own than rent!
Interesting statistics from CoreLogic recently came out: it’s cheaper to own than rent for 36% of the population in the areas that they live, and mainly in capital cities. And in Regional Queensland, it is cheaper to own a home than it is to rent for 73% of the population!
If you're trying to get into the market, it's currently more affordable than ever. Not only have interest rates come down again this week in some areas, but now you can get a $2,000 purchase cash back, plus a refinance cash back of $3,000 if you've got a property, want to move and get some equity out. So let's say there's $5,000, and you might be able to get a variable interest rate under 2% pa.
Are you a medical professional?
We've also seen some positive signs back towards some industry specialisation. A couple of banks will lend up to 95% for applicable Medico candidates to pay no mortgage insurance. We’re seeing an LMI waiver (meaning they pay no mortgage insurance) for Medico professionals up to 95% from a couple of banks. They're obviously backing that sector quite heavily. ‘Medico’ is a bank term that basically refers to certain medical professionals in certain industries. It is a little bit specialised, but in the big scheme of things, very attainable for a lot of people.
And it does extend as well, in some instances, outside the medical space, for professionals such as solicitors, accountants, and physios. The banks did pull back on quite a lot of this specialist lending when COVID first hit, but it's been so good these last couple of weeks seeing the LMI waiver at a 90% LVR for clients coming back into play, and that list is growing.
So by all means reach out and have a chat because there's every chance, with a 10% deposit, to get into the current market where it's more affordable to own than rent. You don't need to save 20%, or you're not going to get hit with $20,000 mortgage insurance costs.
We’d like to finish with a big shout out to our New South Wales, Victorian and Kiwi friends. We are incredibly grateful. We don't take for granted how lucky we have been here in Queensland and the opportunities we've had to attend an awards night and some catch ups with other brokers. And we're always up for chat. Always here for a zoom, a beer, or a dad joke. We're thinking of you, stay safe and hopefully it all starts to unwind soon enough and things return to normal.
Image: @rodemedia