MORTGAGE LOANS – AUSTRALIA

News Corp takes majority stake in major mortgage broker

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Jun-17

News Corp-controlled REA Group is taking an 80.3% stake in a major mortgage broker, Smartline. Roy Morgan Research data shows that Smartline is the number three player behind Mortgage Choice and Aussie. In addition, it has a different customer profile than the two majors, giving it a unique and strong market positioning. Currently, 30.1 % of mortgage holders in Australia (2.04 million) source their mortgage through a mortgage broker, well up on the 22.9% (1.39 million) recorded a decade ago. Among those who took out their mortgage in the last 12 months, 40% used a mortgage broker. Meanwhile, 88.9% of Smartline customers do one or more banking and finance activities online in an average four-week period, well above the mortgage broker customer average of 77.3%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, SMARTLINE HOME LOANS PTY LTD, MORTGAGE CHOICE LIMITED – ASX MOC, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

CBA joins peers in raising rates

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 26 : 28-Jun-17

The Commonwealth Bank will increase the interest rates on its owner-occupier and interest-only mortgage loans by 30 basis points. This follows a similar move by its major rivals, while interest rates on principal-and-interest loans for owner-occupiers will be reduced by three basis points. Commonwealth Bank hopes the rate adjustments will prompt more customers to switch from interest-only loans to principal-and-interest loans.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, BANK OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Expansion takes REA into mortgage broking

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 28-Jun-17

Australian-listed REA Group will pay $A67m for an 80 per cent stake in mortgage broker Smartline. REA, which owns the realestate.com.au property listings business, has also established a partnership with National Australia Bank to provide mortgage broking services and realestate.com.au-branded home loans. REA forecasts that the acquisition of Smartline and the alliance with NAB will boost group revenue by $A26m to $A30m in fiscal 2018.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU, SMARTLINE HOME LOANS PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, CHOICE HOME LOANS

Lower interest rates reducing mortgage stress

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Jun-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey shows that 666,000 Australian mortgage holders (16.8%) were considered to be "at risk" or facing some degree of stress over their repayments in the three months to April 2017. This compares with 744,000 mortgage holders (18.4%) 12 months ago. It is also well below the average over the last decade. Meanwhile, 442,000 mortgage holders (11.5%) are "extremely at risk" of mortgage stress, which is the lowest in over a decade. The survey also shows that mortgage stress is much higher among lower income groups (under $60,000 per annum), where it is currently 85.3% for those considered "at risk" and 65% for those that are "extremely at risk".

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Rate hikes starting to take a toll on borrowers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 21-Jun-17

The proportion of Australian home loan customers that are in arrears rose by five basis points to 1.21 per cent in April 2017. Erin Kitson of Standard & Poor’s says moves by lenders to raise mortgage interest rates independently of the Reserve Bank in recent months was a major contributor to this trend. The rate rises have been prompted by a regulatory crackdown on interest-only mortgage loans. Meanwhile, Australian Securities & Investments Commission chairman Greg Medcraft has stressed the need for responsible lending.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CANSTAR PTY LTD, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, SOCIETE GENERALE SA

Mortgage rate hikes pressure income

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 24 : 14-Jun-17

Data from RateCity shows that Australian mortgage interest rates for investors and borrowers with interest-only loans have generally risen by about 56 basis points in the last two months. Lenders have increased home loan interest rates seven times in the last two years, with rates for interest-only loans rising more quickly than those for owner-occupiers as lenders seek to shift customers from interest-only loans to principal-and-interest products. Martin Crabb of Shaw & Partners notes that a rise in home loan repayments is having an adverse impact on the level of household savings.

CORPORATES
RATECITY PTY LTD, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Banks set for earnings boost from rate hikes

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Frost, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 1-May-17

The ANZ Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank will release their 2016-17 interim results in early May 2017, while the Commonwealth Bank will release a trading update for the third quarter of its financial year. The "big four" banks are forecast to post a combined interim cash profit of around $A16bn. Earnings are expected to have been bolstered by the banks’ recent moves to lift their interest rates for investor and interest-only home loans. Citigroup forecasts that the rate rises will boost earnings per share by up to two per cent in 2017.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSBIL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK MALAYSIA BERHAD, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK PLC, DNR CAPITAL PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Mining states hit by sharp drop in home loan activity: AFG

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 15 : 12-Jan-17

Listed mortgage broker Australian Finance Group has reported 9.9 per cent growth in home loan lodgements nationwide in calendar 2016. However, there was a 16 per cent downturn in loan lodgements in Western Australia, while lodgements fell by 18 per cent in the Northern Territory. Meanwhile, AFG CEO Brett McKeon says the WA Government’s decision to temporarily increase the first-home owners’ grant by $A5,000 for new homes is unlikely to significantly boost construction activity in the residential property market.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FINANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX AFG, REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, DIGITAL FINANCE ANALYTICS

Mortgage payments steady as rates rise

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 17 : 11-Jan-17

Data from Deutsche Bank shows that Australians’ home loan repayments now comprise around 17 per cent of their income, which is consistent with the average over the last three decades. The figures also show that mortgage payment account for 63.6 per cent of Sydney borrowers’ weekly income, compared with 45.3 per cent in Melbourne and just 27.3 per cent in Perth. Meanwhile, Paul Bloxham of HSBC says the residential construction boom is nearing its peak.

CORPORATES
DEUTSCHE BANK AG, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, ING DIRECT, DIGITAL FINANCE ANALYTICS

Mortgage stress strikes bush, city amid fears of an interest rate hike

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 21-Dec-16

Standard & Poor’s has reported that the number of Australian mortgage borrowers in arrear rose in October 2016. Digital Finance Analytics has identified the 20 postcodes across Australia that boast the highest level of mortgage stress. Many of these are in regional areas, although the list includes a number of suburbs in major capital cities. Martin North of DFA says the outlook for interest rates will determine whether there is an increase in home loan arrears and defaults. He anticipates that the cash rate will rise by 50 basis points in 2017.

CORPORATES
DIGITAL FINANCE ANALYTICS, STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN HOLDING LP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD