It has been tough for first home buyers to secure a property in NSW in the last few years with property prices sky-rocketing and being unaffordable. The First Home Buyer Choice scheme is designed to lower the upfront costs of purchasing a home to increase the rate of home ownership in NSW for First Home Buyers. Stamp duty is a hefty sum for first-home buyers.

We are living in an age full of technology whereby professional services are being provided online now. E-Conveyancing being one such line normally referred and carried through PEXA transactions - https://www.pexa.com.au/ . Cyber-crime and fraud are global concerns. Cyber fraud is defined as a cybercrime done through online networking designed to retrieve otherwise inaccessible private information and sometime direct access to bank accounts or money involved in a transaction.

PEXA is an acronym for Property Exchange Australia and is a private company owned by Link, Commonwealth Bank and Morgan Stanley. The PEXA platform allows settlement to occur in a digital workspace. In order to complete financial settlements, PEXA electronically sends instructions to financial institutions involved within the transaction together with other related parties.

CLIENT FEEDBACK

At its November Board meeting, the RBA has decided to cut the cash rate by 15 basis points to 0.10%. The decision was part of a package of changes, which also included:

The RBA’s decision to hold the cash rate at 0.25 per cent means interest rates on loans will remain stable, which will help many households and businesses manage their cash flow.

While housing prices in most capital cities have declined a little since May, the rising equity market meant household wealth remained largely unchanged, despite the deep recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Figures released by CoreLogic have shown that Sydney has fallen by 0.8 per cent, while nationally, capitals have fallen by just 0.7 per cent throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

While the Reserve Bank noted in its latest meeting that conditions in the established housing market “remained mixed”, pointing to recent falls in dwelling values across Australia’s capital cities.

“Housing prices in some larger cities had declined in June, though we’re only a little below recent peaks in the case of Sydney and Melbourne,” the RBA noted.

“Housing prices in a number of smaller cities were broadly unchanged.” REA chief economist Nerida Conisbee said suburbs with prices over $1 million have remained stable during the coronavirus pandemic due to the strong momentum of the past year.

Fifteen suburbs across Sydney have crossed the $1 million median price barrier for the first time.

The suburbs, located predominantly in Hornsby Shire, The Hills and Sutherland Shire, saw their median house price surge in the 12 months to June, thanks to record-low interest rates fuelling the market.

Realestate.com.au data showed Bexley in the city’s south had the strongest growth of the new entrants, with prices growing $266,000 to $1.251 million. Neighbouring Bayside suburb Arncliffe also surpassed $1 million. However, Sydney’s property market is going backwards for the first time since early 2019, with new data revealing house prices have fallen 2 per cent over the past three months. Northmead was the sole Parramatta suburb to break $1 million, with the median house price now $1.01 million. Jannali, Menai and Yarrawarrah from Sutherland Shire along with Belmore and Picnic Point from the Canterbury-Bankstown area also saw house values surpass $1 million.

Australian home prices have fallen for the third successive month, due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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