Cairns Lockie Mortgage Commentary

Issue 2000/8 8 May 2000

Welcome to the eighth issue of the Cairns Lockie Mortgage Commentary for 2000. 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

The Money Market

This evening (5.00 pm on 7 May) the money markets were at the following levels:

Official cash rate 6.00%
90 day bill rate 6.66
1 year swap rate 7.14
3 year swap rate 7.68
10 year bond rate 7.12
Kiwi dollar 0.4885

Better Information for Landlords

Need to know how your rents compare for any given locality. Tenancy Services has up to date market rent information at http://www.minhousing.govt.nz/tenancy/market%20rent%20region.asp

Improving the Lending Procedures at Cairns Lockie

In the past, borrowing clients have noticed that loans from Cairns Lockie, have involved two sets of solicitors: ours and the borrower's. This has changed. We now instruct just the borrower's solicitor. This brings us fully in line with market practice. We look forward to providing our clients with a quicker service.

Languages Used on the Net

Although English is the most common language used on the internet, it is estimated that 44% of the 56 million net surfers on the internet use a language other than English. Non English language user breakdown as follows:

%
Spanish 24
Japanese 22
German 13
French 10
Chinese 6
Dutch 4
Swedish 4
Others 17
Total 100

Source: Euro-Marketing Associates

Trends Continue in the Banking Sector

KPMG released their Financial Institutions Performance Survey 2000 earlier this week. They observe a continuation in prior year trends: bank branch closures (down 121 or 12%), declining staff numbers (down 5%) and falling interest margins. The rise of the mortgage banker is noted with Cairns Lockie getting a mention on page 32.

Riches in Those Bricks

According to a recent report by Bayleys Research, the average price of a house in Auckland rose, between Jan 1990 and Dec 1999, from $183,540 to $326,069. This was an overall increase of 78% (and an annual compounded rate of 5.9%). And inflation was modest in the last decade, compared with the 1980's. We experienced periods of falling as well as increasing house prices. Given this rate of return most Auckland homeowners will be millionaires within the next nineteen years. Shades of Elvis impersonators (see Issue 2000/7 at http://www.emortgage.co.nz/issue2000%207.htm). This should be some optimistic news to discuss over the weekend.

Our current interest rates are as follows

Variable rate 7.65%
Two-year fixed rate 8.55
Three-year fixed rate 8.75
Five-year fixed rate 8.90
Line of credit facility 8.00

Regards
William Cairns
James Lockie

Cairns Lockie Limited
PO Box 74-212, Market Road, Auckland
Website http://www.emortgage.co.nz

© Scoop Media