HomeMate.com.au

Whilst I recommend the article, there is a annoying reference to mortgage brokers at the beginning of the article that riles me, here.

Mortgage brokers hip deep in profits handed out no-doc mortgages to people with fictional incomes. Wall Street shopped bundles of those loans to investors, no matter how unappetizing the details. And federal regulators gave sleepy nods.
That world largely collapsed under the weight of its improbabilities in 2008.

The Labor Party has been the driver in Banking Reform in Australia.

In fact it was always the Australian Labor Party who have reformed the banking system and opened up the mortgage industry to competition which saw the banks reduce their interest rates by over 2%. That is a lot of monthly savings for every Australian Homeowner with a mortgage.

Late last year, Mr Swan announced a bank reform package, including banning price signaling between banks and scrapping bank exit fees, in a bid to lift competition.

Some things in mortgage lending never change. In an ongoing saga the Big Four banks have again been belted in a customer satisfaction survey that puts them well behind credit unions and building societies.

The availability of mortgage finance will fall. Less people will be able to buy a home and the values will fall, until they reach levels where they could afford them.
The ability to qualify for a home loan will be made more difficult, so obtaining a mortgage would be harder. This will mean less closings for real estate agents and sellers, and more work for less reward. Again this will impact everyone, from new home buyers to baby boomers moving out of homes to retirement villages, to wealth inherited. Expect Americans’ wealth to shrink over this.
Variable mortgage loans [called adjustable rate mortgages in the US] will mean that mortgage interest rates will fluctuate with the financial markets. The certainty of the 30 year mortgage will die, and so will a lot of people’s desire to own a home.
On top of that variable rate mortgages will not be government guaranteed and this means that the interest rates will be higher.
Canning the 30 year fixed rate mortgage. This will create uncertainty and loss of confidence in the value of homeownership in the US , is it weren’t damaged enough already.

House prices are topping out in most Capital cities as the constant talk of more hikes in mortgage rates, both from the Reserve bank of Australia and major banks saying that their margins are being eroded in the funds market, and they will be moving to preserve then. Housing Affordability dips as house prices lift [...]

Many homeowners are considering moving into the property investment market for the first time as property rental yields rise. Before making any decisions in this area you need to consider your financial position and your financing options and