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					  <title><![CDATA[Interest Rate News - July 2010]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.negotiator.com.au/blogs/42/Interest-Rate-News---July-2010.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[At this month&#8217;s Reserve Bank meeting it was decided to leave interest rates on hold for another month as was widely expected.The link below is to the RBA website if you would like to read more about the announcement.As far as property goes it is swinging from a seller&#8217;s market into more of a buyer&#8217;s market. There could be some good buys in the market now and in the coming months for those astute investors out there. You may also be up against less competition.As with any investment strategy, do your research before purchasing. But those that procrastinate or wait to see if the market will drop further are usually the ones who miss out.RBA Website Link]]></description>
					  <author>Gregg Mountford</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 WST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Interest Rate News - June 2010]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.negotiator.com.au/blogs/41/Interest-Rate-News---June-2010.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[
As was largely expected the RBA have left rates on hold this month.
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With the Australian stock market on a roller coaster ride and world financial markets all over the place, they have taken a respite from the recent rate rises.
The property market is also showing signs of returning to some sanity with recent option clearance rates off slightly in the past few weeks, although still healthy.
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We are likely to see the market go back to a period of steady growth rather than the insanity of the past 6 months, which frankly was unsustainable.
How long rates will remain steady depends on many factors, but for now enjoy the respite and use the time to savour what really are historically good interest rates for home owners and investors.]]></description>
					  <author>Gregg Mountford</author>
					  <pubDate>Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:00:00 WST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Interest Rate News - May 2010]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.negotiator.com.au/blogs/40/Interest-Rate-News---May-2010.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[
The Reserve Bank has lifted interest rates this month again, due to the Australian economy recovering. 
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Understandably it is sometimes hard to view a rate rise as a positive factor when you have a mortgage. Better that, than having a mortgage with low rates and no job or income to pay it, wouldn&#8217;t you agree? This could have been the scenario if the economy went into the type of decline it has in some countries. You only have to look at the economy in Greece to see the devastating effect that could have happened here without responsible economic factors being in place.
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With our unemployment rate continuing to fall and house prices rising quickly, amongst other strong economic factors, to not raise rates now may have been a big mistake for all our futures. Small rises now, may save us from interest rates spiraling out of control. This keeps interest rates at more sustainable averages.
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Remember to take advantage of your extra savings and have it in your 100% Offset Account if your loan is set up this way. 
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Also rest in the knowledge that the way house prices have been rising, your equity position is likely to have increased at a much faster rate than interest rates have risen.
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There is always a silver lining if you look for it.
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Till next month, always look at the big picture and keep focused in building your wealth over your lifetime.]]></description>
					  <author>Gregg Mountford</author>
					  <pubDate>Sat, 15 May 2010 00:00:00 WST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Interest Rate News - April 2010]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.negotiator.com.au/blogs/39/Interest-Rate-News---April-2010.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[
As largely expected the RBA have increased interest rates by a further 0.25%. This has quickly been passed on by most lenders.
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As I have stated many times before nobody likes interest rate rises but a few small rises now will hopefully insulate us from larger rises down the track. Rates were always going to go up and we will still likely see 2 or 3 more rises this year which will bring us closer to average long term trends, but remember this &#8211; as interest rates rise, so do property prices and so does your rental returns.
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Property prices in the major capital cities continue to strive forward at a great pace and this is one of the reasons the RBA have started to put the brakes on rates with one of the likely affects being that in the coming months we will go back into a more sustainable moderate rate of growth in housing prices. The demand for housing will tend to outstrip supply for years to come given the rate our population is growing and the fact that currently the country simply has an increasing demand for homes and given current construction rates, are behind the supply demand. Prices are likely to continue to grow, even if this is at a lesser pace than we are currently seeing.
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For those of you who are currently in the market you will have likely seen the value of your property rise over the past six months, building you a good equity position. At these times it can be tempting to borrow further against that equity for further personal purchases such as cars, holidays, boats, etc. Please be cautious of this as I see many people do this and forever continue to erode the equity they build.
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Do the opposite, instead of using this for &#8216;Lifestyle&#8217; purchases why not look at trying to invest and help your future situation by building wealth rather than eroding it. It may mean that you don&#8217;t have that instant gratification of a new car or plasma TV, but you will be helping build a solid future for yourself.
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I&#8217;ve popped the link below to the RBA announcement if you would like to read it.
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Till next month.
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http://www.rba.gov.au/media-releases/2010/mr-10-06.html]]></description>
					  <author>Gregg Mountford</author>
					  <pubDate>Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:00:00 WST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Interest Rate News - March 2010]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.negotiator.com.au/blogs/38/Interest-Rate-News---March-2010.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[
In a move that was probably expected at this time of the year, the Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to put interest rates up by 0.25% and we didn&#8217;t have to wait long before the banks passed on their rate rise as well.
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If you are looking at a new loan in the near future it&#8217;s also important to remember that when interest rates rise it can affect how much the bank will lend you.&#160; In a market with rising interest rates it&#8217;s a good idea to constantly make sure the bank will still be able to lend you the amount that you want. So again feel free to touch base with me to confirm the numbers before you sign on the dotted line to purchase a property.
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All this being said, while from a loans perspective we never like that interest rates are going up. Right now these rate rises are really just about getting them back to a more sustainable level.&#160; If a couple of rises now or in the coming few months mean that things can be stable for the rest of the year it&#8217;s probably not a bad trade off.]]></description>
					  <author>Gregg Mountford</author>
					  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 WST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Interest Rate News - February 2010]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.negotiator.com.au/blogs/37/Interest-Rate-News---February-2010.html</link>
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As we saw from this month, it just goes to show that no-one other than the Reserve Bank really know what is going on with rates. Almost every forecaster, finance commentator and anyone with an interest was predicting rates would go up this month. 
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However, it seems the RBA has used common sense and has decided to leave rates on hold. Maybe the turmoil on the international and local stock markets over the past couple of weeks helped with their decision to &#8216;wait and see&#8217;.
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Good news for now, but expect further rises throughout the year and&#160; prepare to build up your savings in your offset accounts. Most economists seem to think that over 2010 rates will rise in the vicinity of 1% but that remains to be seen. How and when the rises come will be for the RBA&#8217;s discretion. The faster the economy grows the faster the rises will come. Given that we still have relatively low rates it is not realistic to expect they will stay there. Another indicator is that fixed rates are already WELL above variable rates and the property market continues to power ahead.
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Anyhow, good news for now so we should enjoy it while we can and I think the future is very exciting for Australia.]]></description>
					  <author>Gregg Mountford</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 WST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Interest Rate News - January 2010]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.negotiator.com.au/blogs/35/Interest-Rate-News---January-2010.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[The Reserve Bank of Australia do not meet in January, therefore the interest rates remain as they did in December 2009.It was stated last year that the Australian economy would stumble and decline in 2009 and property prices would decrease. These predictions did not come true. In fact, right across Australia, property prices experienced good capital growth in 2009 and should have a strong year in 2010 with 5-10% growth on average, predicted by many economists and higher growth rates in premium locations.The majority of economists are predicting a better year in 2010, in terms of capital growth and whilst we can expect to see an increase in interest rates throughout the year this will be offset with the anticipated &#34;housing boom&#34; to meet the increasing backlog of housing and demand from increasing immigration.The key challenges remain on the cost of funding, availability of funding/credit and the ongoing dominance of the major banks. Hopefully we will start to see some easing on available credit when confidence comes back into the &#34;securitization market&#34; later in the year.As always, no point in focusing on things we cannot control but rather those things we can control.]]></description>
					  <author>Gregg Mountford</author>
					  <pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 WST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Interest Rate News - December 2009]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.negotiator.com.au/blogs/34/Interest-Rate-News---December-2009.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[
The Reserve Bank met this month and I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;ve heard that they raised rates by another 0.25%. This was generally as expected as they tend to have several quick rises in a row for shock value. The good news however is twofold.
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One, rates are still well below what they were only a short 2 years ago and second, the Reserve Bank don&#8217;t meet again until February.
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Small rises now will actually help keep rates from rising out of control later.
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I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Negotiator clients and friends a happy and safe festive season and happy new year. It&#8217;s been an absolute pleasure organising your finance and helping you build your wealth in 2009. Looking forward to seeing what 2010 brings.]]></description>
					  <author>Gregg Mountford</author>
					  <pubDate>Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 WST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Interest Rate News - November 2009]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.negotiator.com.au/blogs/32/Interest-Rate-News---November-2009.html</link>
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Another month goes by and the Reserve Bank has lifted the official interest rate by 25 basis points - marking the fourth time in a row it has altered rates on Melbourne Cup day. The market had expected this decision as the economy continued upon its road to recovery.
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I know it is hard to mentally accept, but this is actually good news for the economy in general. As I said last month rates simply could not remain at the extremely low levels they have been at. Overall if we look back, only around 12&#160;to 18 months, rates were 8 to 9%. Still way above where they are today so in comparison we are still in a very good position. If rates were kept at recent lows for too long we would all pay in the end with rates having to be moved much higher to rein in an economy that would be over stimulated. By raising rates now the RBA hopes to keep rates in check over a much longer period and avoid rates going too high.
&#160; 
It seems the world is slowly coming out of the financial crisis it has been in over the last couple of years and Australia seems to have weathered the storm better than most. Hopefully you have been able to take advantage of the recently low rates to build up your buffer funds in your offset accounts. Remember that any extra savings you have in your offset account will save on interest payments on your home loan. 
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The question on everyone&#8217;s lips seems to be &#8216;How high will rates go?&#8217;. While I do not have a crystal ball, the general consensus from the majority of economists I hear is that we could see a rise of around 1 to 1.5% in total over the next year or so which would take standard variable rates into the low to mid 7% range. This is still a very good rate in reality. Really however, only time will tell and a lot will depend on how well the world economy is really recovering.]]></description>
					  <author>Gregg Mountford</author>
					  <pubDate>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 WST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Interest Rate News - October 2009]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.negotiator.com.au/blogs/31/Interest-Rate-News---October-2009.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[
Well, it had to happen sooner or later, although this was still somewhat unexpected by many. The Reserve Bank decided to lift variable interest rates by 0.25%. This will be quickly passed on to all borrowers by lenders.
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While rising interest rates are never pleasant we must look at how low rates still really are - traditionally rates under 10% have been thought of as low in the past. This rise will largely be for shock value and to try and stop the economy going from recovery to overheated too quickly. A lot of economists are saying we could see another 0.25% before Christmas but only time will tell. I have attached the link to the RBA media release after the meeting in case you would like to read it. At least this is straight from the Reserve Bank without all the media hype.
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http://rba.gov.au/MediaReleases/2009/mr-09-23.html ]]></description>
					  <author>Gregg Mountford</author>
					  <pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 WST</pubDate>
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