Cairns Lockie Mortgage Commentary

Cairns Lockie Mortgage Commentary

Issue 2004/15 20 August 2004

Welcome to the fifteenth Cairns Lockie Mortgage Commentary for 2004. This is a fortnightly electronic newsletter, which aims to keep you informed on developments at Cairns Lockie, Mortgage Bankers and the mortgage market in general. Previous issues of this commentary can be found on our website http://www.emortgage.co.nz/newsletters.htm

The Money Market

This morning (8 am on 20 August 2004) the money markets were at the following levels:

Official cash rate 6.00% (unchanged) 90 day bill rate 6.45 (up from 6.40) 1 year swap rate 6.60 (up from 6.57) 3 year swap rate 6.66 (unchanged) 10 year bond rate 6.21 (down from 6.26) Kiwi dollar 0.6631 (up from 0.6450)

House Prices Still Going Up

The housing market is still reasonably active. Recent figures from the Real Estate Institute confirm this. Figures for July show that the median house price in New Zealand increased to $249,000 from $243,000 in June. Over the 16 regions in New Zealand, 11 had increasing prices, 5 had decreasing prices and one was flat. Days to sell a residential property decreased from 31 to 30 days, although it is fair to say the selling period has hovered around 29 - 31 days over the past six months. Turnover has fallen to 8,376 dwellings. Last year and the previous year, monthly volumes have exceeded 10,000. So house prices are remaining firm, they are still selling quickly but volumes sold have decreased. The increase in interest rates by the Reserve Bank has had virtually no impact on the housing sector. All that it has done, is made it harder for the first time home buyers to purchase a property due to rising costs of mortgage finance.

Require More Funds? - It Is Easy!

With the recent increase in house prices many homeowners are using their mortgage to access additional funds. Mortgage finance is often the cheapest and most flexible form of funding available to the homeowner. A borrower with expensive consumer finance and credit cards, can consolidate them into their mortgage account. Extra funds can also used for home improvements - a kitchen, a bathroom or even adding an extra room. If you require additional finance and you already have a mortgage with us, we call this "getting a top up". We look forward to hearing from you.

Mortgage Calculator of Assistance

We were pleased to get a mention in Mary Holm's finance column in the back of the NZ Herald last Saturday in her discussion on mortgage calculators. She commented that our mortgage calculator is easy to locate, straight forward to use, and offers an easy comparison between rates with say your current mortgage provider. You too can enjoy it by visiting http://www.emortgage.co.nz/calculator.htm

Watch your Auckland Regional Council Rates Notice

Over the past week those that reside in the greater Auckland region will have received their rates notice from this council body. We have heard of some cases, for rental properties, where the ARC has applied the higher business rate to properties which have been and still are rated at the residential rate on the local council's rates notices. We urge you to look at your ARC rates notice and check it. If you are concerned or believe that there is an error we suggest you contact the ARC as soon as possible.

Our current mortgage interest rates are as follows

Variable rate 7.90%

No Financials Home Loan 8.90

Jumbo Loan 7.90

Quick Start Home Loan 7.50

One-year fixed rate 7.81 Two-year fixed rate 7.87 Three-year fixed rate 7.94 Five-year fixed rate 7.96

Line of credit facility 8.00

Regards William Cairns James Lockie

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