Interest Rates go up after 19 months, Economy coming out of recession

How high will the interest rates go? NAVJEET SINGH MATTA, Full Accredited Member of Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia also Director- Gain Home Loans, answers pertinent questions on the subject

Hello Friends, I hope all of you are looking forward to the festive season and lot of fun. Deepawali is round the corner and will soon be followed by the Christmas and Gurpurab celebrations. That is the beauty of living in a Western country and enjoying your culture too. I assume lots of you will be going away on holiday overseas or some of you will be staying back here in Australia and enjoying the festive season with your friends.

Now for some information which is of importance to you. In its meeting on October 6, the Reserve Bank finally increased the rates by 0.25%. It’s been 19 months since the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate rates. It was in March 2008 when the rate was raised and after that until April 2009, we saw a free-fall of rates until they were down at a 49 year low! The latest GDP growth figures have been very encouraging, outlining outlines that the Australian economy has actually grown by around 0.6% despite the earlier gloom warnings by a lot of economists that the recession is here to stay for longer. In fact, Australia has been one of the very few countries which has avoided recession! Now the question is, how many times will the Reserve Bank increase rates? Some economists are predicting that the rates will increase by 2% in the next 12-24 months. Even if this happens, they are still going to be well under the rates which we saw last year, when they went up to 9% and it was a challenging time for people’s budget to make the mortgage repayments. All the banks have been smart enough to hike fixed rates well in advance. If you now fix your mortgage, you will be paying almost 2% more than the variable rates. Should you go for fixed rates now, call me on 02 9676 3417 and get the answer!

What does the deadline mean for First Home Buyers?

There is panic among first home buyers, “We have

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Seeking alliance for a 28 year, 5’11”, Gujarati boy. Working as a Database to buy property before September 30, or we will lose the $14K”. Most people have very little knowledge about the situation. Let’s go back to the time when the grant was not increased. First home buyers received the $7,000 grant and the full stamp duty exemption (for properties upto $500K). So what’s the rush? Even if you are not able to buy the property by December 31 this year, you are still going to be eligible for the $7K grant and also the stamp duty exemption. Yes, between October 1 and December 31 2009, the grant will be reduced to $10,500. What I have noticed is that people have paid a higher price than the actual worth of a property just to meet this deadline and don’t get me wrong, a few of them have got good bargains too, especially our clients who have taken advantage of the free property report which would otherwise cost them $79. This report is obtained from RP Data for our clients, which gives them really useful information about the properties, area, prices and helps them to negotiate a very good price. If you also need one of these reports, please go to our website www.gainhomeloans.com and order the free report online. Don’t forget, we deal with all lenders for your home loan and negotiate the best deal for you, so there’s no need to shop around for lenders. Come to us and we will look after you well. Get your Loan approval today (and the best deal too!) Contact us to discuss your situation. As we deal with all the lenders, it becomes very easy for you to compare different loans from different lenders.

The last thing you want is to hop from one bank to the other, trying to understand the products, features and interest rates, thus wasting your valuable time. We make it very easy for you to get the best product to suit your situation, and can provide service at your home or at our office, whichever suits you. Our services are absolutely free. We may even get you some fees or charges waived from the bank. But that is not the only reason why people choose us; we look after your financial needs from the time of the application to the settlement, and for the life of the loan. We have a regular newsletter that goes out to all our clients, which is full of information about property and finance market.

Our services are absolutely free. Don’t forget, we provide free Property Reports, which can potentially save you thousands. You are more than welcome to send me an email to nsmatta@gainhomeloans.com. au and order a free property report for a suburb or a particular property. The website address is www. gainhomeloans.com or call me if you need to discuss in detail. Contact us at GAIN HOME LOANS , Level 1, 9 Flushcombe Rd, Blacktown. So visit our website or call us 7 days a week on 02 96763417.

Disclaimer: Any advice given in this article does not take into account the personal needs and objectives or financial situation of the reader. The reader should consider the appropriateness of this and seek professional advice before making a decision whether to acquire or continue the products and services mentioned.