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Home loans data above market expectations
The number of approved home loans in April were more than what people expected with double the number after seeing Queensland showing signs of bouncing back from their recent tragedy.
A 4.8 per cent increase to the number of approved home loans was seen in April, rising to a seasonally adjusted 47,347 according to official data.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the total value of the housing finance increased by 3.8 per cent in April, which amounted to $19.848 billion if seasonally adjusted.
The information regarding the approved home loans was much stronger than he had expected, with Queensland having more home loans approved after the tragic flooding that befell them earlier in the year.
It seems pretty strong across the board – Victoria, NSW, Western Australia all posting pretty solid gains. An increase in the cash rate is expected again if the housing sector shows signs of strong recovery in the remainder of the year. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will be more confident to increase the cash rate if they see that if households are showing strong signs of recovery.
The RBA announced this month that they will keep the cash rate unaltered at 4.75 per cent. It has stayed at that level since November 2010 and people were clamoring for the RBA to keep it at that due to several Australians still struggling with their mortgage loans and financial crisis.
Many financial experts did not expect the tone of the statement made with the decision to be more optimistic or dovish, suggesting that a sudden increase to the cash rate would occur in the near future.
Strategies to repay your home loan faster
If you're like most Australians, home loan repayments represent one the biggest expenditures you face every month. However, there are strategies to get your home loan paid off faster.
The obvious answer for repaying your home loan quicker
The obvious solution with home loan repayments is just to pay more. Unfortunately for a lot of home owners, particularly first time home buyers additional repayments is just not an option.
Home loan repayment alternatives
There are alternative home loan repayment strategies to just pay more money. In fact, simply increasing your repayments may not be the best strategy. At this point you need to talk to a mortgage broker. There are a range of home loan and refinancing options that could save you money and help you pay off your home loan even faster.
Refinancing your home loan
If your home loan is a few years old it may be time to consider refinancing. The home loan market is very competitive, and it is likely that you can find a better deal by moving your existing loan to a new lender.
Refinancing may be a particularly good strategy if you have a number of debts, such as personal loans, outstanding credit cards, car loans, etc. As well as refinancing your mortgage there may be some value in rolling them all into the one loan at the lower home loan rate of interest.
Choose a more flexible solution for home loan repayments
You're home loan repayment strategy may also benefit from a more flexible home loan. Some home loans, such as fixed rate home loans or basic home loans do not allow you to pay extra into the loan when you have spare cash available.
Line of credit loans are a flexible alternative. These loans are popular due to their flexibility and ability to pay off a mortgage faster. Similar to a credit card, they allow you to withdraw funds up to a set limit at any time. This means you can withdraw money from the mortgage if you're ever short on funds, or pay extra if you have extra money.
There are many other loan solutions. See a mortgage broker for even more home loan repayment options, to learn more – Click Here
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