Boothy Bites Episode 5 - The RBA August update | Lenders and the property market | Lydian HQ Update

Follow us:

• Website: https://www.lydian.com.au
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.lydian.com.au
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lydian-financial-services/?viewAsMember=true
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydianfinancialservices/
• Youtube link to this video: https://youtu.be/Y6ev0n8iXmQ

Transcript:

Jackie
Hey, everyone. Another month, another Boothy’s Bites and we can't do it without the man himself. So. Hey, Boothy. How are you?

Chris
Hey, Jackie. Thanks again for having me. This is really cool. I love it.

Jackie
We love Boothys Bites. Always a good laugh. So let's jump straight in. The RBA. Some good news for everyone, right?

Chris
Yeah, well. Hoo hoo! So, yeah, two months in a row now. So that's really cool. And it's quite exciting because I think, you know, like I'm pretty beat up with all these interest rate changes and things. So it's just nice to get a bit of consistency, one with that decision, but also, you know, so we can now start to better understand what rates are with which lenders as well.

Chris
So yeah, it's been an interesting time, you know. The good thing about, well, those positives and negatives about, you know, the interest rates not going up number one, the positive thing, inflation that's starting to come down now quite quickly, which is a real big win for the RBA. You know, that's what they've been focusing on. That's the negative side of this, although is one of the other sort of sentiments of of you know, the economy.

Chris
Retail spending was really, really bad. So a lot of the mums and dads and and people out there are really start to curtail their spending and watch their spending habits. So you know the, you know, that's obviously means that the households are doing it tough. And though these interest rates are having a big impact on many, especially for borrowers.

Chris
So that's we've got some tough times ahead, I think. But potentially now I think we might be at that peak of the interest rate rises. So that means, you know, what we've got today for the next 4 to 6 months should be nip potentially where we're at for a while now. And this is you know, this is our new norm.

Chris
Yeah, for sure. But yeah, I mean it's a positive with a negative. Yeah.

Jackie
Yeah. So like anything. Yeah, life's like that Boothy. And so what about the lenders, What have they been up to over the past month?

Chris
Yeah, that's been quite interesting. So we've got the cash back and these really cheap interest rates that have been offered, they've kind of been pulled back out of the market now, certainly the cash back side of things, which was pretty crazy last year, that was definitely, you know, pretty much gone now. But interestingly, the you know, some of the major banks, they actually have been increasing their interest rates out of cycle.

Chris
And what that means is that there even though the Reserve Bank hasn't increased their cash rate, the banks still have the ability to increase their own rates. So they've been increasing some of their standard variable rates by ten, 15, 20 basis points over the last few months. So that's been having a negative impact on borrowers and also the fixed interest rates.

Chris
They've actually been going up as well. So again, you know, a bit of competition is kind of coming out of the market. I think some of the larger banks that really worried about their profitability for shareholders are not really, you know, the the cost to the borrowers to say so. Yeah so that's been happening but then you know there is still good competition out there for clients looking for a cheaper the rate.

Chris
And certainly that review process I think is invaluable for anyone who's got a loan right now because of all the short term, all we've gone through in the last six, 12 months. I really recommend a review today more than ever.

Jackie
Yeah, yeah, of course. So much happening. So you want to make sure that you're at the best place possible. And speaking of which, what are your favorite offers going around at the moment? Yeah.

Chris
Okay, well, pull up my sheet because I forget, just give me one sec.

Jackie
Lots of them.

Chris
You know. You know, you know, every every mortgage broker has their preferences, right, with, you know, regards, turnaround times and consistently good interest rates. But there are certainly some specials out there with some of the non-major banks. So Move Bank in particular has got a really good owner occupier at 5.64%, which is incredibly cheap rate and that's a variable rate with no offsets.

Chris
Principal interest owner occupier, Home Loan, Bank of Sydney, they've got a 5.64 with an offset, which is, which is a good feature as well. That fee and variable to kudos have got a fantastic three year fixed rate. So I talked about fixed rates going up the other day or just before, sorry, but they've got a 5.693 year fixed rate, which I really do think offers good value for a few years in this kind of market.

Chris
Right now. So that might be one to consider for parts and maybe not all of your loan, but certainly for part of it just to have some peace of mind with your repayments over the next few years. And then lastly, for our investors, Bank of Australia, they've got a 5.79 P&I variable or a 5.99 interest-only variable.

Chris
Now that 5.99 interest-only variable I think is unbelievable. So really again, if you're an investor and you're paying principal interest on your investment debt and we've also got a home loan, it really is important to start looking at that structure, getting your cashflow in place to concentrate on your own home rather than the investment property and make sure your investment property is interest only.

Chris
But yeah, if you've got a 6% in front of you, interest rates right now, come see us!

Jackie
Hahaha! We wanna talk to you. And so what about the property market, What's happening there? This has got to be one of my favorite little segments of yours, hearing your property take. So, take it away.

Chris
Well, okay. Well, the first thing is I rent a property in Randwick and my landlord called me the day and said they're struggling with their interest rates and making repayments on their home loan, and hence they've got to increase my rent. So I can't be the only person who's having these conversations with my landlord and renter. 

Chris
And anyway, I did said to my landlord when was I responsible to pay your home loan? Right? You know, that's not my job. However, he had a good point. So I look at what apparently my rent has been a little bit lower than it should have been for a while. So I think most importantly, if you are either a property owner for investment purposes, well then get that reviewed and have a look at that, because it's a pretty tight market right now.

Chris
My wife and I realize we can't go anywhere, so we've kind of got to cop it. But certainly, yeah, those, you know, making sure, you know, your properties have been reached out with the most appropriate income and the best income it can have. I think that's a really good thing to do. Review again, reach out. We've got real estate agents around the country.

Chris
You can do reviews for you. The second one, I would say is what are the markets doing? So last week we actually had a I suppose a poor performing Sydney market from an auction perspective. So we did come the 70% clearance rate. Now I don't know whether that was real low amounts of stock on the market, So it's a bit of a tough thing to really kind of juggle and figure out where this market is going.

Chris
I do believe that the springtime this year will start to get more normal volumes come into the marketplace. Certainly the biggest thing is, you know, with the stress of interest rates right now, you've got borrowing against property. People will be considering to sell property, de-leverage, de-gear, capitalize the balance sheet, do that kind of stuff. So my take on property right now is I think we'll just wait until spring comes around.

Chris
It's sunny today, but we've had a couple of days of miserable cold rain. So when the sun gets a bit, when it gets a bit warm and the sun comes out, maybe a few people will start to list their properties. Brisbane's done really well, hasn't it? I mean, Brisbane's really been booming, so you know, well done. Brisbane and Melbourne also has been doing pretty well, so they've had clearance rates above that mark and I think the forecast for Sydney property gains in this 12 months is about 10% and I think that's similar for the gains in property in Melbourne and Brisbane as well.

Chris
So you know, property prices through this interest rate hike, it's certainly not gone down. They've they've continued to steadily, you know, go up and 10% is not nothing. You know, it's quite a large gain as well. So yeah, I think if the people who have got cash and are looking to invest, there's no time like now to invest if you're looking for, you know, plenty of benefits.

Chris
If it your first homes, there's plenty of benefits and offers. So no stamp duty, first home loan deposit schemes, first homeowner grants and things like that. So again, reach out if you're looking to buy property. We've got a swag of pre-approval in place right now, so we've got lots of people looking to buy.

Jackie 
Yeah, so exciting. We love to help them on that journey. And so lastly, what's the updates happening at Lydian HQ? I hear that we've welcomed some new workers into the Pride.

Chris
Yes, it's been really good. I think we've spoken about it. Jackie, you've presented well and you've polished Lydian's profile. So people are attracted to come to Lydian now, which is really good.

Chris
We've also got a great lady who joined us earlier. So I'm based in the Sunshine Coast as well. So yes, she just got on board yesterday, so we're really excited for Tahlia. And in fact, she's doing a caravan journey around Australia to see if we can be a mobile broker. That's cool. That's pretty cool.

Jackie
That's cool.

Chris
That's pretty cool. She's taking her young kids and family around Australia while working for Lydian, which is really exciting too.

Chris
But she's a fantastic mortgage broker too, so we welcome her on board. And then we've got the conference for Virtual Business Partners in Cebu next week. So Andrew and I, we go up there representing, we'll be networking with many of our existing partners, plenty of prospect partners there in the financial planning space. So we're excited to get over there to see some of our good friends.

Chris   
But yes, it's really good. And then watch this space next month. We've got more brokers joining in more key locations. So it's an exciting time to be part of the Pride.

Jackie
It sure is. Come and join us. We're a cahoot! Well Boothy, thank you so much for your time. Love doing these monthly updates with you and we will see you in September next month.

Chris
Yeah, perfect. Alright, we'll have a have a great one. It be spring next month, so I'm looking forward to that. Thanks again, Jackie. Just want to say thank you to Andrew, my business partner, for holding the fort while I was away. You know, all those big decisions he did incredibly well, So well done Andrew.

Jackie
Awesome. Thanks Boothy, see you soon. Bye.