Want a better deal on a home loan?  Go to a “neobank”

That’s the inference from this article about neobanks – app-based banks like Volt, Xinja and 86400 that don’t have branches, but are otherwise as safe and reliable as a regular bank.  Because they’re cheaper to run than a major bank with thousands of branches and tens of thousands of staff, they say they can offer better deals including higher interest rates on savings, and lower interest rates on home loans.

The big banks aren’t taking this lying down, however.  Home lending is the only part of the lending market that’s actually growing at the moment, and the big banks (ANZ, CommBank, NAB and Westpac) aren’t happy about losing their share.

The upside: if you’ve got a good financial history, a track record of saving more than you spend, and money for a deposit squirreled away, lenders will be falling over themselves to get your business.

What should I do next?  Get in touch with Mint Loans to find the best deal.

Competition for existing homes still surging in Sydney

A big increase in the number of homes going to auction in Sydney hasn’t put a dent in the clearance rate (that is, the number of homes being sold at auction).  In the space of a week in mid-February, nearly twice as many homes went under the hammer in Sydney – but the clearance rate still hit around 80 per cent.

What does that tell us?  FOMO is thriving in the market for existing homes in Sydney, and prices are rising rapidly as a result.  By comparison, prices for new house and land packages have held steady – and at the moment, with each week that goes by, that gap is widening.

What should I do next?  For a more affordable way to buy residential property in Sydney, take a closer look at house and land packages.

Millennials still dreaming of home ownership

According to Bankwest, the resurgent property market hasn’t dented dreams of home ownership among Australian 23 to 38-year-olds.  A quarter of the 1,700 millennials surveyed said they’d sacrifice lifestyle spending, and would even consider putting off having children, in order to be able to afford a home.

Only one in five however, said they knew exactly how much they needed to save.  Given the size of the average mortgage in Australia just tipped over the $500,000 mark for the first time, that’s potentially a worry for any of the other 80 per cent who are serious about turning that dream into a reality.

What should I do next? Do your research.  A good place to start is to confirm your buying power – and at risk of sounding like a broken record, Mint is a good place to start.