Morning Briefing: Non-major softens apartment lending stance

One non-major lender believes it can help minimise the negative impacts caused by Australia’s booming apartment market... Perth suburbs buck trend with strong house price growth...

Non-major softens apartment lending stance
One non-major lender believes it can help minimise the negative impacts caused by Australia’s booming apartment market by softening its stance on apartment lending.

Non-major lender CUA last week announced it is altering its lending policies to make it easier for people to access finance for apartment purchases, with the majority of changes targeted at the owner-occupied market.

“On the whole, these changes are designed to help more apartment buyers to qualify for a CUA home loan,” CUA general manager of sales Andy Rigg said.

“Some of the changes are also designed to manage the risks from forecasts of an apartment oversupply in some Australian cities in the coming two years,” Rigg said.

The changes include CUA changing its definition for what it considers to be high density apartments.

Perth suburbs buck trend with strong house price growth
Perth has been far from what anybody would consider to be a property hotspot in recent times, but figures from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) show there are still areas of the city performing well.

Recent figures revealed the year June saw Perth’s house prices hit with another solid decline in prices, but according to REIWA double digit growth can still be found in the city if you know where to look.

“Although Perth’s property market has moderated over the last year or two, it’s encouraging for home owners that there are pockets throughout the metro area that have performed well and enjoyed positive price growth in more complex market conditions,” REIWA president Hayden Groves said.  

In the year to May, the south eastern suburb of Lathlain was Perth’s best performer as its median house price improved 11% to $860,000.
(Your Investment Property)

 
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