CONSUMERS SEEKING MORE RELIEF FROM RBA
Announcement posted by Crook Publicity 22 Jun 2012
CONSUMERS SEEKING MORE RATE RELIEF: LOAN MARKET
Consumers are still seeking more interest rate relief despite the back-to-back cuts in the official rate by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), according to leading mortgage broker Loan Market.
Loan Market Corporate Spokesman Paul Smith said home loan enquiries had only risen moderately since the RBA lowered its cash rate on May 1 by a half percentage point to 3.75 per cent and then by another 25 basis points on June 5 to 3.5 per cent.
Mr Smith said consumers remained cautious and they would welcome further stimulus from the RBA, which still had plenty of room to move.
“Consumers are still hesitant despite the RBA’s rate cuts, which have not been passed on in full by most lenders,” he said.
“Our own enquiries have risen by only about five per cent with most activity on the days when lenders made their interest rate announcements.
“But any spikes in activity haven’t been sustained and the signs are that consumers are uncertain about the European debt crisis and the direction of the domestic economy and they are hoping for more rate cuts.”
Mr Smith said while further rate cuts were desirable, home loan customers did not necessarily have to wait for more action from the RBA as the current competitive lending environment enabled them to try and strike a better deal on their mortgage.
“There’s understandably some uncertainty in the minds of Australians towards the direction of the economy, however those who are looking to save money on their home loan should take advantage of interest rates while they trend downwards,” he said.
“Borrowers can achieve significant savings by shopping around and seeing if they can get a more competitive home loan package.
“And often borrowers who make noises about switching lenders achieve a favourable response from the banking retention teams.
“Market conditions are currently in the buyer’s favour and a mortgage broker is ideally placed to take a client’s interest to the market and negotiate home loan options between lenders.”
A recent Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) study showed 43 per cent of all home loans were now written by a mortgage broker and many in the industry are suggesting it will rise to 50 per cent in the coming years.
ENDS
For further information:
Paul Smith
Mb: 0421 923 019
About Loan Market
Founded in 1994, Loan Market is Australia’s fastest growing retail mortgage brokerage settling more than $6 billion in home loans annually through a team of over 600 brokers in Australasia. Loan Market is part of the Ray White Group of companies, which were established over a century ago and is one of the largest private companies in Australia with over $25 billion in real estate sales annually and international operations in Asia, the Middle East and New Zealand.