Investors Dominate Property Market
11 March 2010
Source REBOline
Property investors are dominating the mortgage market, new data from Australian Finance Group (AFG) has found.
According to AFG’s latest mortgage index, 34.1 per cent of all mortgages arranged nationally in February were for property investors – the highest percentage ever recorded by the company.
The amount of investor mortgages arranged was 25 per cent higher than the level of investment loans recorded six months ago in August 2009.
AFG’s general manager sales and operations Mark Hewitt said while investor confidence has been rising for several months, the company had not expected the level of investors in the market to be as strong as it was.
“Investors are now the driving force of the market, encouraged by rising property prices in recent months, and the longer term view that a housing shortfall will continue to underpin future price growth as well as rental yields,” Mr Hewitt said.
"We are pleased to see second tier lenders making a strong return in recent months. Borrowers are starting to see these lenders as a genuine alternative to the majors again.”
AFG data showed second tier lenders accounted for 17 per cent of all new loans written in February, more than the double the proportion that was recorded this time last year.
This figure supports the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data, which found that bank lending had edged backwards to 88.1 per cent of all loans in the fourth quarter of 2009 – down from a high of 92.5 per cent recorded in the first quarter of the year.
Congratulations to Kim Pollard
9 March 2010
Congratulations to Kim Pollard, 23 years at MMJ today.
New Home Sales Climb
1 March 2010
REBOnline
New home sales climbed 9.5 per cent during January, a new report has found.
According to the most recent New Home Sales Report By the Housing Industry Association (HIA), private sector detached house sales increased by 10.1 per cent in January 2010, the first decent result since August last year.
According to HIA’s chief economist Dr Harley Dale, private Multi-unit sales also recorded an increase, rising 4.1 per cent in January on the back of a 14.5 per cent jump in December last year.
“If we were to get a sustained improvement in new home sales over the first half of 2010 then that would suggest a second round new housing recovery is achievable, driven by private demand from upgrade buyers and investors,” Dr Dale said.
“The January new home sales result is a promising start in this regard. However, it is vital to see evidence of a second round recovery emerge in coming months in what remains a very challenging period for residential construction. The successful policy of targeting new home construction via the tripling of the grant to first time buyers has now gone, interest rates are on the rise, and the considerable supply side obstacles to boosting the new housing stock, such as land supply and skilled labour constraints, are still clearly evident.”
Detached new home sales increased by 3.1 per cent in New South Wales, 17.1 per cent in Victoria, 6.3 per cent in Queensland, 6.6 per cent in South Australia, and 12.2 per cent in Western Australia.
Prepare for Further Rate Rises says RBA
February 2010
AAP
Homeowners should brace for further interest rate rises this year, although the degree of official changes will be subject to how retail banks react according to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Facing his six-monthly questioning from the federal House of Representatives economic committee in Canberra on Friday, Mr Stevens reiterated that if economic conditions evolve as the central bank expects, further adjustments to monetary policy will probably be needed."This is a normal experience in an economic expansion: as economic activity normalises interest rates do the same," he said.
"Though, of course, it is the interest rates borrowers actually pay, and that savers receive, that are important rather than the cash rate per se."The board sets the cash rate with that in mind." The central bank raised the official cash rate three times in as many months late last year, although unexpectedly left it unchanged at its first board meeting of the year earlier this month. He noted that most lenders raised borrowing rates by a little more than the cash rate. But, he said, even allowing for these margin changes, borrowing rates were still below average.
He said the economy was well positioned to prosper due to its proximity to a strong Asian region, as it sets course on a new upswing in growth. "We expect that it will grow by a bit over three per cent for 2010 and about three per cent in 2011 and 2012."
The economy expanded by 0.2 per cent in the September quarter for an annual rate of 0.5 per cent in the year. But he took issue with a claim by opposition frontbencher Barnaby Joyce that Australia risked defaulting on its borrowings if government debt kept rising.
"There has never been an event of sovereign default by Australia," Mr Stevens said. "I very much doubt there ever will be." Earlier in February, Senator Joyce raised concerns over Australia's debt levels, saying the country was going into "hock to our eyeballs" to overseas investors.
"We are getting to a point where we can't repay it," Senator Joyce. Mr Stevens also said that a speech he gave for the 50th anniversary of the RBA was not meant as a commentary on current Australian fiscal policy. He said the point he was making was that globally, governments had made more active use of fiscal policy recently than they had for a long time, Australia included.
"That is understandable and makes sense in the circumstances that we faced," he said. But it raised issues of how fiscal policy around the world would be conducted in the future and the timing of debt consolidation. "This is a very important question, less for us than for Europe or the UK or the US," Mr Stevens said, adding some countries had budget deficits of 10 or 13 per cent of gross domestic product and debt ratios of 80, 90, 100 per cent or more.
Mr Stevens, agreed under questioning, that there was a link between excessive government spending and interest rates. "That link is always there."
MMJ Raises Awareness and Funds for the NBCF by hosting a Pink Ribbon Breakfast.
October 2009
This morning MMJ hosted their 4th annual Pink Ribbon Breakfast in support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The event was held at the Wollongong Golf Club. Approx 40 staff and their guests gathered in an effort to raise awareness and funds for a worthy cause. A total of $395 was raised from the morning, making our total $670, exceeding our target of $500.
Luciana Rossi inspires guests with her experience. This year, guest speaker Luciana Rossi, of Rossi Simicic Lawyers inspired the guests with her experience of Breast Cancer. Luciana was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in February of 2008, not long after establishing her successful law firm, Rossi Simicic Lawyers. It was with the support of her husband Rob and her business partner Tiana Simicic, that she was able to push through and beat the disease.
The theme of the breakfast was recognising our support networks and thanking those close to us that support us in our times of need. It is these networks that get us through the tough times and help us celebrate the good times. MMJ believe that a good network, be it a personal one or a business one, is the key to a successful future.
Help MMJ support those that support us in our time of need. You never know when you may need them. And most importantly, help the NBCF find a cure for Breast Cancer.
MMJ North played an active role in Spring into Corrimal celebrations.
September 2009
With all hands on deck, they raised $1000 for Corrimal and Towradgi Surf Clubs through a sausage sizzle and a guessing competition. The weather was perfect and the crowd estimated at 30,000 enjoyed a full day. Congratulations to Donna Monk from Bulli who took home the Nintendo Wii. Also drawn was the August winner of the 32” Sony plasma which was taken out by a vendor from Scarborough. Even though a long and exhausting day, all staff did their bit and made the day a success.
MMJ Recognised for Commercial Management by the NSW Real Estate Institute
August 2009
Tracy Preston, Department Manager of the Commercial Management Division of MMJ Wollongong has been announced as a Finalist in the Real Estate Institute of NSW’s Annual Awards for Excellence, in the Category of Commercial Property Management.
Congratulations to Tracy Preston of MMJ Commercial Management Tracy has devoted her career to Commercial Property Management since completing a Land Economics Degree at the University of Technology Sydney and now boasts an impressive career in Commercial Property Management spanning more than 13 years.
“Commercial Property is a wonderfully diverse field”, says Tracy, “the management of commercial property is a multifaceted beast”, she declares. “Excellence in Commercial Property is all about providing your clients with pro-active solutions to meet their goals from holding the property in their portfolio. You have to make the little things count on a routine basis”.
Warren and Tania to appear on Channel Nine's new show 'Random Acts of Kindness' to air on July 12th, 2009.
July 2009
"And when I thought my life couldn’t get any better, while enjoying a barbecue on our back deck with Warren’s family and his mates to celebrate their achievement in winning the ‘Pride of Australia Award’ TM for Mateship, we were pleasantly surprised when a visit came from Channel 9’s Karl Stefanovic for a new show called ‘Random Acts of Kindness’.
I couldn’t believe this was all happening. We were all totally caught unaware as film crews came running down the side of our house and up onto our back deck saying, ‘Surprise’. Warren’s father and mate Tim were in on the act and the rest of us were dumb founded in shock. It was the sought of thing you see happen to others on television and you could never dream that you would be chosen out of everyone in Australia for this to happen to you.
Karl said that he had been watching our story closely and was so touched by Warren’s tenacity and strength of spirit, along with my love, devotion and commitment to him over the years in caring for him, that he wanted to give back something to our family and also to his mates for sticking by him." To read more click here.
MMJ Auction Success
July, 2009
MMJ held a successful Group Auction yesterday at the Wollongong Golf Club with 3 out of 4 properties selling on the night. The highlight of the night being the sale of the Keelong Juvenile Justice Centre site at Cordeaux Heights. An Illawarra family paid $2.75 million for the 6ha site.
Daniel Frazer, from MMJ Wollongong, said the family wished to remain anonymous and were "tight-lipped" about their plans for the site. "It will be some sort of development or alternate use," Mr Frazer said. The site did not sell at auction, with the highest bidder only offering $2.4 million. A hive of activity after the auction led to the successful negotiation and eventual sale by Daniel Frazer.
Other properties successfully sold on the night included a development site at 60 Princes Highway, Corrimal. Agent James Ianni was pleased with the result and advised the new owners do plan to redevelop the site.
A commercial property at 1 Luso Drive, Unanderra was also snapped up under the hammer by a local investor for $1.24 million which represented an approx nett yeild of 8.5%.
MMJ's next group auction is scheduled for 19th August 2009, bookings for this auction close Monday 21st July 2009. Speak to one of our Sales Agents to discuss selling your property by auction today.