Are Our Mortgage Woes Nearly Over?
The Reserve Bank of Australia has recently lowered interest rates by 0.5% in an attempt to revitalise the struggling housing market. The move comes after a national decline of house prices by 6% over the last year and amid fears that the market will continue to stagnate if measures aren’t taken. However, already in some place the housing market seems to be picking up and, for many of us, we may be saved from some worry over our mortgages by these new cuts.
The RBA’s announced half per cent cut in the cash rate could, according to recent article from News Maker, save some 64,000 Australian mortgage holders considered to be at risk of failing to make repayments. This information was based on the Roy Morgan Single Source of 50,000 Australians. However, for many of us we can only expect a slight reduction in our costs and the truth is that we are relying on the banks to pass on a large percentage of this saving. If they do then it will have a huge effect on those already with mortgages and with those planning to take out a new mortgage. The question then becomes whether they actually will pass on these savings.
With the standard variable rate cut it seems that many providers will be able to pass on some of the saving to their consumers. However, the recent years have actually seen many lenders profits suffer dramatically and many are voicing concern that the rate reduction will only have a marginal impact on the costs for policy holders. The truth is that lenders have to protect their interests as much as their customers and it looks likely that only a part of this saving will end up being passed on. This is a shame for many mortgage holders who will still struggle to meet all their payment needs. It seems that for some of us our mortgage woes will decrease but for many the situation will remain problematic as it largely depends on how much of the saving your provider is willing to pass on. With that in mind we decided to take a look at tackling your mortgage woes and trying to secure the biggest benefit from these new rates cuts.
One of the first avenues people will look to is refinancing your mortgage with providers like http://www.bankwest.com.au/personal/home-loans/home-loans-overview#refinance-your-mortgage. You can change your mortgage policy within a company and between companies in the hopes of attracting a better interest rate and saving money. As we wait to see the cuts take hold it is worth looking at your refinancing options in order to analyse where you can save money. Many people keep their mortgage despite having improved circumstances or despite being able to find lower interest rates elsewhere. If your financial situation has improved since you first took out a policy then it is worth looking into a shorter repayment period and trying to pay off capital in one go. Refinancing is a great way to achieve this and the less risk associated with your policy the more chance you have of securing a better deal. However, if you are at higher risk of failing to make repayments you should still look into the savings that you can make as you may be able to alleviate a significant amount of pressure from your policy. Many companies will offer incentives to switch and many lenders will also allow you introductory rates on a mortgage which will allow you to save money both in the short term and overall.
With these new cuts in rates it is worth re-examining our mortgage policies and trying to find the best deal available.
Are Our Mortgage Woes Nearly Over?
