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MORTGAGE MARKET STRENGTHENS DESPITE ELECTION: AUGUST DATA
Despite the Federal Election, mortgage sales in August were 10.9% higher than in July according to Australian Finance Groups National Mortgage Index. For the second month in a row, sales to first home buyers increased - from 9.5% of the market in June to 11.7% in August.
Greater competition between lenders on price and policy, and especially the increasing of Loan to Value Ratios, is supporting both entry level home buyers as well as property investors. With property prices in many areas having stabilized, and some lenders prepared to lend up to 95% of a property's value, property is becoming more accessible to first home buyers and more attractive to investors, especially when compared to the volatile performance of stock markets.
First home buyer activity was robust in NSW, where it comprised 15.5% of all new mortgages compared to 11.7% in June. First Home Buyers comprised 12.9% of all mortgages in WA, 11.7% in
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