As the COVID-19 crisis continues to hit the hip pockets of Australians, the big four banks are coming to the table with relief measures for existing customers. Business closures and job losses have had a flow-on effect for many Australians who are now struggling to manage their home loan repayments. This has prompted the major banks to throw a lifeline to mortgage holders. The big four banks are aiming at making life a little easier for their customers. Picture: Getty ANZ, Commbank, NAB and Westpac are freezing home loan repayments for eligible customers for up to six months, although, in most cases, interest will continue to accrue. It’s important to check the conditions with the individual bank.  Here’s a breakdown of what the Big Four are currently offering existing mortgage holders in response to the coronavirus pandemic. 1. ANZ Under a home loan repayment deferral, ANZ customers won’t be required to make repayments to their home loan for a period of time. Unpaid interest during the period is capitalised, meaning it’s added to the customer’s outstanding loan balance to be…

Australia is among the top three countries in the world best placed to ride out the economic fallout of COVID-19, with experts predicting property will signal the recovery. Empty parks and streets in Brisbane City due to social distancing rules linked to the Coronavirus pandemic. Picture: Russell Shakespeare A report by PRD Nationwide called “Developed Country Response to COVID-19”, looked at all G20 nations and their packages designed to bolster economies and jobs (in USD). Per capita Australia ranked second, behind Germany, as being the best placed nation to ride out the economic downturn, while as a percentage of GDP it ranked third, surpassed only by Germany and Japan. PRD chief economist Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo told The Courier-Mail that the numbers showed that Australia’s fiscal policy had put the coutry in a strong position for recovery. Stimulus Per Capita (USD) Germany $9,890.08 Australia $7,842.56 United States $6,077.83 (Source: PRD Nationwide) “Against other developed countries Australia’s stimulus package as a percentage of 2019 GDP (14.4 per cent) is on the higher end, above the US and Canada, and significantly higher than our neighbours…

Strong price growth has returned to Sydney and Melbourne and is expected to spread to more affordable Brisbane, according to CBRE research. While the devastating COVID-19 outbreak has cast a shadow over the economy in the opening months of this year, CBRE’s 2020 market outlook report says Australia’s development cycle is returning to undersupply. “Apartment supply cycles in the major capitals are past their peak and vacancy levels are well controlled,” CBRE’s head of residential research Craig Godber said. The report notes that approvals in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are “particularly evident” for large developments in the three capital cities. “With cost of debt low and lending volumes starting to turn, investors should gradually return,” Godber said. Property advisory group Charter Keck Cramer last week forecast an apartment undersupply by 2022 due to slumping numbers of new apartments under construction. The property advisory group said the demand-supply imbalance was largely due to “population growth and anaemic construction activity”. “This should encourage well placed developers to begin marketing larger projects again so they are at the forefront of the next development…

Brisbane is officially under construction. Everywhere you look, there is a major construction site underway. A city of 2.5 million, a region of 3.6 million, the city is undergoing monumental change, with 2020 welcoming the start of many new major projects about to come online. The video above counts down Brisbane’s top 15 major projects of significance for the year. The significance of a project doesn’t always mean the associated dollar figure, but more how it will impact the city. Below is the list:   1. Brisbane Live Artist’s impression of Brisbane Live arena Brisbane Live is a large scale inner-city precinct development located at Roma Street Station, a surface level interchange train station for six Queensland rail lines. The centrepiece of the project is a new 18,000 entertainment arena complex which would be built above the open-air Roma Street Rail Yards. Surrounding the arena, a large scale entertainment precinct is planned which would include a variety of mixed-use buildings. Whilst Brisbane Live has an estimated dollar figure of only $2 billion for the above-ground infrastructure, compared to Queen’s Wharf’s…

Australia’s housing market faces a new balancing act, with a looming interest rate cut expected to offset threats that the coronavirus could derail reinvigorated buyer sentiment. Property prices across the country are recovering much faster than expected, with Sydney and Melbourne now growing annually at double-digit rates and values across five capital cities reaching a record high in February. Darwin was the only capital city where home values fell, by 1.4 per cent, while Sydney recorded the strongest growth of 1.7 per cent over the month, followed by 1.2 per cent in Melbourne and 0.8 per cent in both Canberra and Hobart, according to CoreLogic’s Home Value Index. For the first time since 2014, house values in Perth increased, albeit modestly, for four consecutive months, providing further evidence that the long-running downturn has come to an end. While high auction clearance rates show buyers are back in force and the latest data from the Reserve Bank of Australia indicates investors are following owner-occupiers back into the property market – lending to investors grew in January, by 0.1 per cent, for the first…