The Local Finance Professionals Group
Finance Update

LFPG is excited to announce our latest cost cutting initiative for our valued clientele.

Would you like to save save up to 17% on your annual Home, Contents and Car Insurance with Australia's leading insurance provider - Allianz? It's as easy as 1,2 ,3

Step 1 - Call  1300 858 642

Step 2 - Quote our specialized broker code 43411

For more information on our Insurance Discount or to find out how to get a great interest rate on your Home loan contact the team at LFPG today. 

"LFPG continually strives to add value to our customers by aligning ourselves with market leading service providers that have the same focus on quality, integrity and  professionalism"

Shane Webcke
Partner                       

Home loans at 3.49% fixed for 1 year 

(Reverting to the variable rate at maturity...currently 5.64%)

Too good to be true?

Well actually it isn't!

 This is a promotional rate from a Mortgage Manager looking to address the sharp decline in market share to non bank lenders.

A recent industry publication advised that since the second quarter of 2007, banks increased market share from 79.7% to 92.5% for new loan applications.

The dramatic reduction in lending competition has been especially pronounced in the past year, with non-bank lenders seeing market share reduce from 15.5% in the second quarter of 2008 to just 7.5% in the first quarter of 2009.

What does this mean to you, the consumer?

Basically, this is inundating the major Banks with work that they are struggling to handle. In many instances this is resulting in:-

• Higher interest rates
• Lack of personalised customer focus
• Poorer service and turnaround times
• Increased fees and charges
  
• Longer wait times for telephone banking and customer service responses

 
These huge promotional rate reductions won't last as the imbalance in market share evens out. If you're not happy with the service you are receiving from your Bank, or would like to compare your current home loan against that of a wide range of other lenders, then call us on 1300 788 434.

Kind Regards

The team at LFPG

"You could take years off your mortgage, and save thousands of dollars in interest by taking advantage of the exceptional rates currently on offer. Call our team of finance professionals today to find out how we can help you"

Shane Webcke - Partner

taking the hassle out of arranging finance

Finding the right property can be a long process, and when you do find the one, it is important to be in a position to purchase immediately to avoid the disappointment of missing out because of poor timing. When you are looking to buy a new home or an investment property it is also advantageous to know how much you have to spend and arranging pre-approval will help set your limit and assist when negotiating on the price. It also means you can bid with confidence at an auction.

REDUCTION IN VARIABLE RATES

With the significant rate reductions in the last couple of weeks, I have been receiving a lot of queries regarding how some banks deal with automatic P&I loan repayments on Variable Rate loans.

Despite all this, many would argue that there are good reasons for optimism regarding Australian house prices. Firstly, while America's housing boom ended because of an oversupply of housing, Australia has a huge shortage. This is reflected in 1% or so vacancy rates for rental properties and 10% pa rental growth.

Noticing the current mortgage interest rates.

It isn't easy to make sure you always have the best mortgage or home loans interest rates, and therefore pay the least interest. And believe me, over the years, even a fraction of a percent reduction in interest rates means big savings! You need to get in the habit of noticing current interest rates. This is especially true if you are currently in the market for a new mortgage.

• Finding it hard to make ends meet?
• Not sure exactly what your debts are, or why you are being charged so many "hidden" costs
• Feel like you could turn things around if you could just clear some of your debt?

Well perhaps you can!

If you are in the market for a new or used vehicle, now is a fantastic time to purchase with many dealerships initiating "fire sales".

Aggressive RBA doesn't disappoint

Most analysts expected the RBA to deliver a hawkish statement following its decision to hike interest rates at its February Board meeting, and the Bank didn't disappoint. The RBA does not expect inflation to ease back to the top of its target band until 2010. Inflation is expected to 3½% over 2008 and 3¼% over 2009. And the RBA states that "absent a further shift in economic risks to the downside, therefore, monetary policy is likely to need to be tighter".

RBA raises the cash rate to 7%

The Statement accompanying the RBA's decision to raise interest rates was less hawkish than we expected. The Governor actually provide plenty of reasons why they could have delayed a rate hike:

On Friday January 18th the Courier Mail reports that there may be a case for a further interest rate hike, with the ABS reporting another solid gain in employment and the unemployment rate falling to 4.3% in December 2007.

As attributed in the Courier Mail on 11 January 2008, Consumers can still benefit from competition in the home-loan market, even though the goalposts have moved, analysts say.

AFG, Australia’s largest mortgage broker, arranged $2 billion of mortgages last month – a 15% increase over December 2006, with growth largely driven by investors and the top end of the property market.