Property market update: May 2022
Finder's home loans editor Richard Whitten has covered mortgages and the property market since 2017. Every month he analyses price and rate data to provide a snapshot of the Australian property market.
Home loan rates really began to rise in May as the Reserve Bank lifted the official cash rate for the first time in almost 12 years. Multiple lenders have already announced that their variable rate loans will increase by 25 basis points.
Property prices have continued to slow down, with Sydney recording a 0.2% monthly drop and Melbourne flat. Hobart prices also dropped by 0.3%. But overall, Australian property prices grew 0.6%.
With interest rates rising fast we can expect prices to slow further as borrowing costs get more expensive. This is probably good news for would-be first home buyers, but housing costs are already so high a small drop in prices might not help that much. But at least it gives buyers breathing room to save up their deposits.
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Josh Bartlett, mortgage broker and managing director, 
Useless tool – no way to select weekly payments.
Hi Chris,
We appreciate your feedback.
Our tables contain quite a bit of information in them. In the interests of brevity, we currently allow you to compare home loans by monthly payments. If you’d like to know the estimated weekly payments, you can divide these estimates by 4.3. For instance, if the monthly estimate was $3,000, once you divide it by 4.3, the weekly amount would be $697.67.
Hope this helps, and thanks again for the feedback – we’ll explore whether this functionality can be added.
Many thanks
Sarah
I’d like speak to someone about refinancing a please?
Hi Michael,
If you already have a preferred lender, you can visit their website to submit an application and/or request to speak with their home finance representative.
Alternatively, you can speak with a professional mortgage broker to get personalised advice. You can call one of the mortgage brokers found on our page to schedule an appointment or search for a mortgage broker in your area on Google.
I hope this helps!
Richard
I am an Australian citizen returning to Australia after several years abroad. I will be entering into employment with the Australian branch of my existing employer with a new employment contract (but without a probation period). Can you advise limits to home loan borrowing upon arrival. e.g. is their a qualifying period for work/residence in Australia for lenders?
Hi JDM,
Thanks for your question!
All Australian citizens are eligible to apply for a home loan. This is one of the basic requirements. Others include age, income, and other unique requirements of the lender.
As a friendly reminder, carefully review the eligibility criteria of the loan before applying to increase your chances of approval. Read up on the terms and conditions and product disclosure statement and contact the bank should you need any clarifications about the policy.
A mortgage broker is the best person to reach out to see your options for home loans. They can give you a multitude of options according to your situation. In the meantime, to give you an estimate of your monthly repayments, you can use our home loan eligibility calculator.
Hope this helped. Feel free to reach back out for further assistance.
Cheers,
Nikki
What are the options for Self employed with one year financials?
Hello Mani,
Thank you for your comment.
If you’re self-employed and is interested in a home loan, you can check low documentation (low-doc) loan which is designed to cater to applicants who are working for themselves. Please note that different lenders have different application requirements, so it’s best to check your eligibility and ensure meeting the requirements before submitting an application.
You may check our low doc home loan guide and see the tips on how to compare such loans. After comparing the products in our panel, you can click the “Go to site” button or the “Enquire now” button and discuss with the lender your eligibility.
It’ll be best to seek advise from a mortgage broker and discuss options based on your needs.
Should you wish to have real-time answers to your questions, try our chatbox on the lower right corner of our page.
Regards,
Jhezelyn