Sydney and Melbourne have definately been the growth stories of the last 2 years. Whereas Brisbane has been sluggish in comparison. There's probably many factors that have contributed to this but the softening in the mining sector and the public service cuts by the Newman government have put a dampner on confidence. 

While Sydney has been going strong the rate of growth is above the long term trend which suggests at some point there will be a market correction. With a median of $850,000 and average yields of only 3.7% that's a fairly substantial shortfall for investors to fund.
Melbourne is sitting at $613000 with yields of 3.3%.

With Brisbane sitting at $485,000 average yields of 4.6% and interest rates now sitting at 4.5% and lower we feel its only a matter of time before some catch up occurs.

The key factors will be a return of confidence and improvement in the jobs figures. But don't think the market isn't moving up. It still grew 5.1% for the last 12 months. 

So as always it will be the ones that move early while others sit on the fence that will maximise their upside.

We have recently identified a unique investment option in the Redland Bay area. 

The property is located in a small infill site in an established area. The location is excellent – only minutes to the main shopping/business district and area is well serviced for schools including the highly regarded Sheldon College. The area has experienced a consistently low vacany rate remaining below 2% for the last 24 months. Expected rental yield is 5.17%

Clients wishing to obtain further details on this property will first need to complete our Financial Health Check form. Click here to request a form.

1. Lenders want you to fix your loan

Lenders offer fixed rates for one reason only – to stop you from leaving. They are purely a retention strategy.  To break a fixed loan can be incredibly expensive and lenders know that in 99% cases this break cost will stop you from leaving.

Most fixed rate loans also stop you paying off the loan too quickly. So even if you secure a good rate you can only pay a minimal amount extra which could in fact see you paying more interest than if you had simply stayed on a variable rate.

Lenders pay big money to interest rate strategists to work out where rates are heading and where the cycles are. Fixed rates are designed to make you pay a higher cost of funds than if you actually stayed on variable.

Your chances of winning the bet are very low. If you don’t believe me have a look the Big 4’s combined net profit.

2. It’s not all about the rate
Lenders know most borrowers focus on the interest rates and pay little attention to all the other costs of the loan. However when you add up establishment fees, valuations fees, legals, ongoing fees, mortgage insurance, renegotiation fees etc suddenly that low rate is no so low anymore.

The biggest growth in lender income is via fees.

3. Lenders look after new customers better than their loyal clients
To attract new business lenders often offer significantly discounted rates (0.25 – 0.5% less) for the exact same loan that their existing clients have.  You might have banked with them for 10 or 20 years never missed a payment but they won’t offer you that rate.

Which is why it is always worth reviewing your lending on a regular basis.

4. Pre-approvals are worthless
Lenders hand out pre-approvals like lollipops but they aren’t worth the piece of paper they are written on. Most pre-approvals do not involve a detailed analysis of your financial information and full verification of your documentation. In many cases they are done over the phone or via email based purely on a few questions.

And don’t even get me started on online loan calculators.

What your income is and what a lender is prepared to use to assess your capacity are two different things.

I think the approach most lenders take is when someone makes an initial enquiry they just say “yes”. That way there is a strong likelihood that person will come back to them for their loan if they sign a contract. If the loan is declined or then approved on ales favourable terms than what they first advised it’s no skin off their nose as you are just another number and they move on to the next deal.  

5. Lenders want you to cross-securitise
As with fixed rates lenders know if they tie up all your property it’s going to make it very hard to ever leave. This is particularly an issue for property investors with a portfolio. Each time you add a property it gets added to the mix. It’s very hard to unscramble an egg.

Unfortunately most people are apathetic and continue to pay thousands of dollars each year more than they need to.

6. Valuers dictate the market
It doesn’t matter what you think your property is worth, or the bank. The only person that matters is the valuer. It is now fairly common to see properties come in below contract price or well below owners expectations if they are refinancing. And even if you can provide supporting sales evidence it is unlikely that will change their minds.

Many lenders acknowledge privately that valuers can underscore properties and be inconsistent in their valuation methods but no one seems to be prepared to do anything about it.

7. They know most people are apathetic
Lenders know most of their clients will do nothing about their loan and continue on in the wrong loan product at a higher cost for years. They know most won’t obtain advice from a finance expert who can assess their position and provide some alternative options to their current situation and most likely save them thousands of not tens of thousands of dollars. 

At MTA Finance we provide clients with a realistic appraisal of their options based on their specific circumstances, and ensure that the structure that is put in place is designed to benefit them and not the banks.

Contact us for an initial chat to discuss your home loan requirements

(Source: Phillip Baker AFR)

A a week ago, there was no chance the Reserve Bank of Australia would cut rates to 2.25 per cent in February, but now it’s a 40 per cent chance. If the RBA does not cut at the first meeting for 2015, traders are betting it’s an 85 per cent chance that it will happen in March.

This follows a larger than expected fall in New Zealand inflation rate which has sparked talk that similar fall in Australia’s inflation next week will open door for rate cut.

Still, 22 out of 25 economists say the RBA will keep the cash rate steady at 2.5 per cent next month.

MTA is a Brisbane based property investment service helping clients build wealth without impacting their lifestyle. Click here for FREE investment tips

The significant shortfall makes Australia’s retirement status the worst in the Asian region and the fourth largest gap globally, HSBC’s Future of Retirement report has found.

And almost half of the nation’s population (44 per cent) are not afraid to concede they have inadequately prepared for retirement or have not prepared at all.

The report, which surveyed 16,000 people worldwide, also found among Australian respondents 16 per cent believe they will never be in a position to full retire compared to the global average of 10 per cent.

Australians expect their retirement to last 23 years but the shortfall of 13 years is among the worst of the 15 markets surveyed.

An ASFA spokeswoman said people are living longer in retirement than ever before — the average life expectancy in Australia is 83 — and they need to prepare for this.

“It’s important they plan to save enough so they can live comfortably for all of their post-work years,’’ she said.

“The earlier you start saving the more you will benefit from the magic of compound interest.

“For example, if you’re 30 years old, having just one less cup of coffee per day and putting the extra money into your super can add over $125,000 to your final superannuation balance when you retire.’’

ASFA data released last year showed in 2011-12 the average super balances of Australians was $197,000 for men and only $105,000 for women and most retirees would need to rely on the age pension in retirement.

The HSBC report found that paying off a mortgage or other debts was a significant barrier a majority of Australians (51 per cent) to financially prepare for retirement.

HSBC’s head of retail banking and wealth management Graham Heunis said “Australians are in denial about retirement planning.”

“Being concerned is not enough — the next generation need to take action and start saving now.”

MTA is a Brisbane based property investment service helping clients build wealth without impacting their lifestyle. Click here for FREE investment tips

The latest National Australia Bank Residential Property Index tipped Queensland and Victoria as most optimistic markets, with house prices to rise 2.1 per cent here and 2.2 per cent in Victoria compared to a pared-back national average of about 1.5 per cent.

NAB chief economist Alan Oster said Brisbane was the best city for capital growth this year (5.7 per cent), followed by Sydney (4.1 per cent) and Melbourne (2.7 per cent).

The Queensland capital was also expected to hold onto that mantle into 2016 (3.8%), with Sydney and Melbourne to both sit on 2.3 per cent.

The NAB survey had some bad news for renters though, with rental growth expected to be strongest in Queensland and Victoria this year.

All markets except Victoria were also expected to see foreign buyers make up a smaller portion of the market. In Victoria foreign sales were around one in three according to the NAB survey, with the rest of the country sitting at around half that.

Mr Oster predicted there would be two rate cuts this year, in March and August, bringing the cash rate target to a new record low of 2 per cent.

“Our assessment of the market remains that house price growth will continue to moderate because of rising unemployment, sluggish household income growth, affordability concerns, cost of living pressures and high levels of household debt.”

But he said the two interest rate cuts “should support house prices a little more than previously expected”.

(SOURCE: CBA)

Brisbane has had the highest average annual house price growth across the country’s capital cities since 1970 at 11% per year, according to Hotspotting.com.au.

This means the city’s house prices have doubled about every six years over the past 35 years, as per analysis from Hotspotting.com.au’s director Terry Ryder.

It's worth noting, however, that Brisbane houses sold for a median price of just $8,500 in 1970, according to statistics from the Real Estate Institute and BIS Shrapnel. So the rapid rate of growth since that time has come off a particularly low base.

According to the CoreLogic RP Data home value index, the average house price in Brisbane was $466,500 at the end of 2014.

* Home prices up 7.9% in 2014

Using figures from the Real Estate Institute of Australia and BIS Shrapnel, Ryder calculated average house price growth over several decades in each of the capitals and found that Brisbane has been a consistent performer over the last four decades and even in more recent times.

For example, Brisbane’s prices have improved by an annual average of 13.6% since 2000, while Sydney’s annual average has been 10% during that time, Ryder said.

“The growth has not been even, with the seventies being particularly strong for Brisbane real estate,” said Ryder. “The eighties were also healthy, but in the nineties value growth was sluggish in all cities.”

However, even with the latest price boom, no capital city has averaged better than 8% annual growth since 1990, he said.

Melbourne's solid growth

Melbourne has also performed relatively well over the long term, averaging better than 10% annual price growth since 1970, with its house prices doubling every seven years on average, according to Hotspotting.com.au.

Given that the nineties were poor for property price growth across the board, a number of the capital cities experienced the best growth either side of that decade.

For example, the bulk of Melbourne’s high growth came before 1990 and the city has been a mediocre performer since, said Ryder.

“When you consider that Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney have all averaged 9%-11% a year since 1970, it shows how much the nineties have dragged down overall property performance.

“It took the market quite some time to recover from the high interest rates of the late eighties and the economic recession of the early nineties.”

Sydney average over long term

Hotspotting.com.au's analysis also noted that the country’s strongest property market today, Sydney, has performed poorly compared to other cities over the long term.

While its 12% annual price growth led the national market in 2014, based on CoreLogic RP Data’s figures, Hotspotting.com.au found that since 1980, Sydney house price growth had been outpaced by Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Canberra, and matched by Adelaide.

A lender has recently put a new offer to the market of 4.39% Comparison rate 4.44% for loans of $150,000 and above. Snap shot of details as follows:

• Loans within 80% LVR 4.39% Comparison Rate 4.44%
• Over 80% LVR 4.69% Comparison rate 4.80%
• No application fees
• To approved applicants
• For a limited time

*Each comparison rate is based on $150,000 over 25 years.
WARNING: For qulaified applicants. These comparison rates apply only to the example or examples given. Different amounts and terms will result in different comparison rates. Costs such as redraw fees or early repayment fees, and cost savings such as fee waivers, are not included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan.

Suncorp-owned Guardian Advice will have to appoint an independent consultant approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for the next two years to ensure it is complying with its obligations under the law.

Guardian Advice currently employs 257 authorised representatives and has 130,000 clients across the country.

ASIC said it was concerned the company was not complying with its general obligations as an Australian financial services (AFS) licensee, including failing to properly supervise its advisers.

Specifically, ASIC was concerned that Guardian Advice did not “properly assess and monitor its representatives’ competence to provide financial services”.

According to the watchdog, Guardian Advice also failed to meet its record-keeping obligations, did not adequately respond to identified breaches by its representatives, nor have in place adequate human and technological resources.

“The weaknesses in Guardian Advice’s systems and controls show that there was an ongoing risk that unsuitable advice could be provided by Guardian Advice and its authorised representatives,” ASIC Deputy Chairman Peter Kell said.

The ASIC-appointed expert will report regularly to the watchdog over the next two years, and ASIC says it may publish the results of the reports.

The move is the result of an investigation launched in 2013 after a number of former employees of AAA Financial Intelligence Limited and AAA Shares Pty Ltd — both of which had their AFS licenses cancelled by ASIC — joined the company.

Consumers are in a particularly vulnerable position when purchasing life insurance. Source: Getty Images

In a statement, Guardian Advice said it takes ASIC’s findings very seriously and would work “to ensure the necessary improvements are implemented by the business”.

“The life insurance and advice industries are undergoing widespread reform and GFP accepts that it is appropriate that there is greater scrutiny of these industries,” it said.

“GFP is confident it can seize this opportunity to improve our business, including improvements in adviser recruitment, training and adviser audit processes.”

The determination follows a review of the industry last year, which found what ASIC described as an “unacceptable level of failure” with more than one third (37 per cent) of advice received by consumers failing to comply with the laws relating to appropriate advice and prioritising the needs of the client.

David Leermakers, a senior policy officer at the Consumer Action Law Centre in Melbourne, said consumers were in a particularly vulnerable position when purchasing life insurance, and so had a right to expect advisers act in their best interests.

“When someone buys life insurance it’s an important decision, but it’s also very confusing. A lot of people don’t have the expertise or the time to do a good job themselves, so they put a lot of trust in advisers,” he said.

He added the entire remuneration model of the industry needed to be looked at with a view to banning upfront commission outright.

“We’ve said for some time we don’t think upfront commissions are appropriate,” he said. “Clearly we want advisers to be out there and to be able to make money, but they need to be paid in a way that encourages them to help consumers.”