HomeMate.com.au

Is the housing shortage real, or just a trumped up story to give home buyers the hurry up. I have changed my mind over the past two years. After repeating the story for years on my blogs of a growing housing shortage in Australia believing it to be true, I now believe it might have [...]

As new home buyers sit on the side lines waiting to see what Federal and State Governments do next about housing affordability, home builders are feeling the pinch as the construction industry slump reaches it first birthday. I don’t buy that interest rates are too high. Interest rates are normal. The problem is that new [...]

As Australia’s house prices soften many would say this represents a great time to buy. That obviously depends on what happens next. Australia home values are down further in 2011, as home buyers wait to see what will happen next with mortgage interest rates and home loan exit fees. If you have to buy now, [...]

RBA ask home buyers & homeowners to carry the “interest rate” can for the economy again. Australian home buyers and mortgagor homeowners might get punished By the Reserve Bank of Australia with higher mortgage repayments for the mining boom, the Queensland floods and Cyclone Yasi. Real economy is going backwards This grim analysis is based [...]

Mortgage Managers may get special exceptions. In December last year, the Labor Government announced plans to ban exit fees on new home loans from July 1, 2011, in response to outrage of the major banks lifting rates above RBA rates. At that time I thought it was a bad idea for home buyers and homeowners [...]

Qld home builders have seen home buyers disappear as first home buyers stay away. A lot of home builders are hurting right now, especially in Queensland, where the sale of new homes could be 20% down on 2010, itself a down year. Whilst first home buyers have not been a major force in new home [...]

In the last ten weeks 72 out of 73 of Queensland’s Local Government areas have been flood affected. Over 70% of QLD went under water at some stage in that period. A “Back Swan Event” for QLD?
In that period many areas have been flooded twice, some areas have been hit with an inland tsunami, with small towns completely washed away. Then we had Cyclone Yasi. Then the Christchurch earthquakes hit our New Zealand cousins hard, with many Kiwis living in Queensland having friends and relatives in Chrischurch. Then we hear and see Japan hit by earthquakes and tsunami that may well be Japans worst natural disaster ever. This will also affect new home buyers.