Hot Property: The biggest property headlines from the week 20-24 July 2020

We hope it helps inform you of the biggest issues shaping the mortgage and property markets.

Lender ramps up home lending scrutiny

COVID-induced crackdowns on home loan serviceability have continued with yet another lender reducing its risk appetite.

BOQ Group (includes Virgin Money) has revised its credit policy for home loan applications as part of its “ongoing commitment to responsible lending”.

ASIC to review responsible lending guidance

The corporate regulator has revealed that it will review its updated responsible lending guidance after deciding not to take further action in the “wagyu and shiraz” case.

FBAA head urges lenders to resolve processing lags 

Among the pain points cited by Mr White was the processing delays for loan applications, amid mounting evidence of a blowout in approval times among several lenders, including three of the big four banks.

Mr White said the delays were producing poor outcomes for borrowers in need of swift support.

How has WFH changed the real estate game? 

Momentum Intelligence has revealed a very even split across the ways agents have continued working through the pandemic:

One in four agents (24 per cent) has been going into the office as usual for the duration of the crisis, while 26 per cent have now returned to the office after a stint of working from home.

A further 22 per cent of agents who participated in the research said the COVID-19 crisis saw them working from home for the first time and they are still doing so. The remaining 28 per cent consider themselves as “long-term WFHers”, with life in the home office continuing as it did pre-COVID-19.

3 commercial property trends to look out for 

Steve Dick, director of Raine & Horne Commercial Newcastle, said the knock-on effects of COVID-19 will change the commercial property landscape moving forward.

Continued impact on corporate travel, WFH options gaining popularity, and the continued pick-up of online shopping are three trends to look out for.

Central West hotspot revealed 

Orange, NSW, is the property market-keen investors should be keeping a close eye on, according to Propertyology head of research Simon Pressley.

“For (both) capital growth and rental income growth, the property market in Orange, NSW, has already been one of the best in the country over the last five years,” Mr Pressley said. 

$250k in taxes on a $500k property: The real cost of investing 

The $13.1 billion in negative gearing benefits dished out to investors in 2017-18 was nothing compared with the staggering surge in taxes being paid by those same property holders.

The president of Property Club, Kevin Young, said that “during the five years from 2013-2014 to 2018-2019, overall government taxes on property in Australia surged by 38.5 per cent to $32.6 billion during 2018-2019.”

How this investor got on the property ladder making $5.10 an hour 

Australians looking to get onto the property ladder but lack the financial resources to do so are being encouraged to get creative and use other means at their disposal.

Real estate agent and property investor Alex Lumsden did not enter the market initially by himself: “I bought into our family home, and I bought another property with some family. Why? I guess I always thought that it was the way to make money,” he said.

REIA throws support behind National Property Managers Day

The Real Estate Institute of Australia has backed a new initiative that seeks to celebrate the country’s property management community.

National Property Managers Day, this Friday, 24 July, is designed as a day to recognise the “amazing efforts of the residential and commercial property managers across Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic”.

For more analysis and insight into these stories, tune in to Momentum Media’s new live talk show on Facebook, What’s Making Headlines, featuring Momentum Media’s executive editor - real estate, Phillip Tarrant, and business coach and Real Estate Gym trainer Tom Panos.