We’ve got our first free client workshop for the year coming up on Wednesday night. At our offices at 7pm. It will be a great opportunity to ask all those nagging questions about the economy and how it affects property investors. Don’t forget to phone us and let us know if you’re going come along!
Fixed Rate Notes
• At a presentation given by the chief economist for one of the Major Banks, he mentioned that he thought fixed rates had ‘bottomed out’.
• This was a surprise to me because in the past the banks always talked about set their own fixed rates according to what they expected from rates in the future.
• At present, however, they are limited by the fixed rates available in the wholesale market.
• This means that there aren’t many investors willing to lend money to the banks for 5 or more years, so the rates that they’re asking is high.
• Then the banks add their margin and find that rates for 5 or more years are very high. They don’t see this changing in the short term.
• Having said that, CBA and Westpac just reduced most of their rates by .2%, so maybe there’s still a little bit further to go before we ‘bottom out’ on fixed rates.
• However, it’s in interesting perspective and different to the usual situation.
Workshop – This Wednesday at 7p.m.
How does the GFC affect you?
Katrina Gay of Nicholson Financial Planning will discuss how the Global Financial Crisis has affects property investors and some strategies for managing through the tough time. I will debunk some of the jargon in the paper lately, we’ll discuss whether it’s a good time to fix and how property prices are going.
Wednesday March 25th at 7pm in our offices. Please phone Ro to let us know if you’re coming.