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Oak Laurel wishes everyone a happy Easter holiday 2016!

Happy Easter! We are hoping that you are having a great Easter holiday with family and or friends!

Even if you are not religious or believe in the Easter bunny you can still enjoy a holiday.

If you are working through the holiday, hopefully you are being paid extra to make it worth your while.

Remember to consume chocolate in moderation.

Oak Laurel Mortgage Brokers – Loans made easy!

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The post Melbourne property prices reach new peak again in Feb 2016 appeared first on Oak Laurel.

Melbourne property prices reach new peak again in Feb 2016

Melbourne property prices index has reached a new peak again in Feb 2016. Melbourne property prices hit new peaks in four consecutive days 24 to 27 Feb 2016. These new all time highs come after Melbourne hit new highs earlier in the month according to data from Corelogic daily property price index.

These price gains come despite prominent media stories by so called ‘experts’ that property prices in Melbourne are slowing or ‘set for price correction’, with no mention of the new peaks in prices that are being observed. Anyone can make a guess on where property prices will go but it would be nice if firstly they were backed by credible evidence and secondly they have a track record of getting it right. However, in the 24/7 news cycle I guess that it is the sensationalised headline that matters to sell papers, subscriptions or airtime.

Auction clearance rates as reported by domain.com.au still remain relativly high at 75% clearance in Melbourne on Saturday the 27th February 2016. High clearance rates at auction also suggest that demand is strong and that future property prices will rise, at least in the short term.

“I still believe that Melbourne property has a good outlook for 2016. It is such a livable city and people want to live there and own a home there” said Dr Nigel Abery (Ph.D.) Principal at Oak Laurel.

“Unlike the wild ups and downs of Australia’s other cities, Melbourne property prices have a relatively reliable and consistent upward trend without the wild swings” said Dr Abery.

“Selecting the right suburb, street and individual property is always important but Melbourne is a good starting point” said Dr Abery.

Oak Laurel Mortgage Brokers – Loans made easy!

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The post Fixed or variable home loan in 2016? appeared first on Oak Laurel.

Is it better to have a fixed or variable home loan in 2016?

A common question clients ask when taking out a home loan or looking to refinance their home loan is: Should I fix my home loan? or Is it better to have a fixed or variable home loan in 2016?

Sometimes what the client really wants to know is: Will interest rates increase in 2016 or the next few years?

 Nigel Abery (PhD), Principal Mortgage Broker at Oak Laurel.

What influences interest rates?

It is not really possible to know with any amount of certainty if interest rates will increase, remain the same or decrease in the short and medium term. There are many factors that can influence both the Reserve Bank of Australia’s cash rate and the bank or lender mortgage rates.

The factors that the Reserve Bank of Australia board consider when setting the cash rate are contained in the RBA Governor Glenn Stevens’ statement that is provided after each meeting. Some of the reasons for these changes are stated with some commentary about the RBA decisions in other articles on this site. The RBA decisions mainly revolve around global and domestic economic conditions and inflation (including house prices).

The bank and lender interest rate are influenced by the RBA cash rate, other cost of obtaining and providing finance, Government regulation (banks and lenders change their interest rates in order to encourage or discourage certain types of borrowers) and the risk of lending (this can be risk of lending to a certain type of borrower or due to other conditions such as higher risk locations or property types). Banks and lenders can also manage these types of risks by increasing the deposit or equity required.

Why fix you mortgage interest rate?

There are a few main reasons that you may want to fix your mortgage interest rate:

1. If the fixed rate loan has a lower rate than the variable interest rate alternatives.
2. If you want to be sure that your payments will remain at the fixed rate level for a certain period of time.
3. If you think that interest rates will increase and you will be paying less by fixing your interest rate.

Why have a variable mortgage interest rate?

There are a few main reasons that you may want to have a variable mortgage interest rate:

1. If the variable interest rate is lower than the alternative fixed rate (similar to the above but in reverse).
2. If you want flexibility to make extra payments or repay or refinance the loan without paying a break fee penalty. Note that some fixed rate mortgages allow substantial amounts of extra repayments.
3. If you think that interest rates will go down and you will be paying less by having a variable interest rate.

Which is better, a fixed or variable rate loan in 2016?

Assuming that you don’t need the flexibility to make extra payments or the certainty your payments will not increase, the question really becomes do you think that bank or lender mortgage interest rates will increase in 2016.

Though it is difficult to predict, I suggest that we may be at or near the lowest interest rates that we will see in the short to medium term. This is because of a number of reasons:

1. The RBA has stopped indicating that they may cut and now have made more undecided statements that the cash rate could go either way.
2. Lenders, mostly banks have had extra regulatory burden placed on them and are becoming more risk averse and are pricing more risk into their rates.
3. Interest rates are already very low and the RBA can only cut so much without being cornered without even being able to threaten a cut. The RBA often talks about cutting the cash rate in an attempt to stimulate spending and the economy without the need to actually cut rates, this is called jawboning.
4. I am an optimist and believe that the economy will improve.

Disclaimer: nobody can predict with certainty what will happen to interest rates. This is not considered as financial advice!

Oak Laurel Finance Brokers – Finance made easy!

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The post RBA cash rate update Feb 2016 appeared first on Oak Laurel.

RBA cash rate update Feb 2016

RBA cash rate update Feb 2016. The Reserve Bank of Australia left the cash rate on hold at 2% today the 2 February 2016.

In the Statement by Glenn Stevens, Governor on the Interest Rate Decision, the reasons given for leaving the cash rate unchanged included:

• mixed economic conditions around the globe;
• declining commodity prices, especially oil prices, and the continuing decline in Australia’s terms of trade;
• volatility in financial markets;
• non-mining parts of Australia’s economy strengthening during 2015;
• improving and above average business conditions;
• employment growth and decreasing unemployment rate;
• increasing lending to businesses; and
• constrained inflation, CPI rising by 1.7 per cent over 2015, with underlying inflation at about 2 per cent & growth in labour costs subdued.

The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Bank did not give any guidance of where interest rates may head in the future with the following statements.

class="x-blockquote" >At today’s meeting, the Board judged that there were reasonable prospects for continued growth in the economy, with inflation close to target. The Board therefore decided that the current setting of monetary policy remained appropriate. Over the period ahead, new information should allow the Board to judge whether the recent improvement in labour market conditions is continuing and whether the recent financial turbulence portends weaker global and domestic demand. Continued low inflation may provide scope for easier policy, should that be appropriate to lend support to demand.Glenn Stevens, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia

Commentary

The mixed signals in the global and local (Australian) economy appear to have the Reserve Bank Board uncertain what the future may hold and therefore deciding to keep rates on hold. Regardless of what may happen in the future the current improving employment data and low interest rates are good for borrowers.

By Dr Nigel Abery (Ph.D.)

Oak Laurel Finance Brokers – Finance made easy!

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The post Melbourne property prices reach peak Feb 2016 appeared first on Oak Laurel.

Melbourne property prices reach a new high in February 2016

Melbourne property prices reached a new high in February 2016 according to property price data from Corelogic.

Melbourne’s property price rises are ahead of all of Australia’s other capital cities, including Sydney which has seen a decrease in property prices in recent months.

Melbourne’s property price rise trend has been a steady upward trajectory after dipping after the previous maximum in November 2015.

The auction clearance rates in Melbourne also show signs that the market is heating up again with good clearance rates according to Domain.com.au data.

Though the Melbourne property prices have hit a new high, the price rises are slower and steadier than the gains in the recent past that worried Government policy makers. So don’t expect Government banking regulator to require banks and lenders to carry out any further restrictions on investment lending. There is also indication that the participation of property investors is not the main driver in Melbourne’s property price gains.

The restriction of property price gains to the Melbourne market and the cooling of the Sydney property market, where bubble fears were greatest, should still leave the door open for the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates if needed.

“The Melbourne property market has a good outlook for 2016, probably better than any other property market in Australia.” said Dr Nigel Abery (Ph.D.) Principal at Oak Laurel.

“Melbourne’s property market has good fundamentals, with more people choosing Melbourne to settle in that any other city in Australia” said Dr Abery.

“Melbourne is a great city to live in and that is why thousands of people are moving from other cities around Australia and overseas to live in Melbourne” said Dr Abery.

“Not all suburbs are the same so don’t expect that you will get average gains if you buy in a bad location. I would avoid inner city large high-rise apartments unless you investment horizon is super long term. Alternatively, if you buy a quality property in a good location you may expect to outperform the average price gains.” said Dr Abery.

“Look for suburbs where people high incomes and above average capacity to pay want to live. Convenient locations with good access to transport and amenities such as good schools are likely to continue to attract buyers willing to pay top prices” said Dr Abery.

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Bad credit truck finance

Bad credit truck finance is available, Oak Laurel finance brokers can help!

Do you have bad credit and want to get a truck loan? Most people with bad credit get turned down by the banks and lenders. When you have bad credit you can end up thinking that there is no options for you to finance your truck, trailer or other equipment purchase. However, this is not true! Oak Laurel finance brokers get the tough truck and equipment loans approved!

Having a few dents in your credit file does not mean that you will be unable to get your truck purchase approved. It may be true under normal circumstances but Oak Laurel finance brokers are not your normal finance brokers. Oak Laurel finance brokers are specialists that get the tough loans approved!

STOP applying for finance immediately, you are only damaging your credit file even further but applying again and again and being rejected! Contact Oak Laurel finance brokers immediately! We can get you back on track to a clean credit file and financing your truck, trailer or other equipment that you need to run your business.

Did you know that Oak Laurel finance brokers can also help people that have only just registered their ABN? If you have only just registered an Australian Business Number (ABN) then most banks and lenders will not finance your truck, trailer or other equipment purchase. However, Oak Laurel can assist people who have only recently registered their ABN. This also means that you do not need to provide any financials such as tax returns, business Activity Statements (BAS), or even an accountants letter. We can assist new business owners to finance many types of equipment even when they have only registered their ABN or one day!

If you are looking for truck finance or know someone that is looking for truck finance or other types of equipment finance tell them about Oak Laurel finance brokers.

Oak Laurel Finance Brokers – Truck loans made easy!

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