Money news that affects your hip pocket this Friday.
Is now the time to lock in interest rates? Technically we would say no because the Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to keep cutting rates further this year below the current benchmark setting of 1.75 per cent. But that doesn’t mean that the banks and home loan lenders will keep following the RBA much lower.
Some interest rate analysts are saying that now is the time to lock in a “good” deal because fixed rates are already super low, and often better than variable home loan deals.
Data from financial comparison website RateCity shows on a $300,000 30-year home loan the lowest variable rate loan is 3.59 per cent, while the lowest three-year fixed deal is not far behind at 3.67 per cent. Variable rates are sitting around 4 per cent or just above.
See more: Money news on what’s being said about locking in your home loan
The outlook for the rental market is good news for renters but not too good for landlords. The latest data from CoreLogic shows that rents for houses fell by an unprecedented 0.9 per cent over the past year, while rents for units rose 1.5 per cent as slowing population growth meets a rapid increase in housing supply.
A bigger than expected drop in rents in Darwin and Perth had the greatest influence on the data. Adelaide and Brisbane posted small rental declines, while Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Hobart rents edged higher.
See more: Money news on rents to fall further
The outlook for global growth remains weak particularly after Fairfax Media reported that a banker from Northern Trust predicted that Britain will slip into recession within the next six to 12 months as consumers and businesses refrain from spending.
See more: Money news on Brexit and recession
