High-profile apartment defect cases have changed the way many NSW buyers approach purchasing, putting greater scrutiny on building quality, strata records and the parties behind a development before a contract is signed.

The industry buyers are assessing today, however, is also different from the one in which cases such as Opal Tower and Mascot Towers emerged.

NSW has introduced a series of regulatory measures aimed at strengthening oversight of apartment construction, including Building Commission NSW, the Residential Apartment Buildings Act 2020 and the Strata Building Bond and Inspections Scheme. Under the latter, developers are required to lodge a bond, with independent inspections forming part of the process for identifying defects in new strata developments.

Those changes provide another layer of protection, but they haven't removed the importance of buyer due diligence.

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For purchasers considering an apartment, that means looking beyond the residence itself. Building and strata history, strata reports, the track record of the builder and developer, the condition of common property and any known or planned expenditure by the owners corporation can all form part of assessing a building before purchase.

Whether the development is already complete can also materially change what can be assessed.

An off-the-plan purchaser is necessarily buying before the finished product exists. A completed apartment, by comparison, can be walked through before contracts are signed, allowing the purchaser to see the finishes, common areas and broader building as they have actually been delivered rather than relying solely on plans and renders.

It also removes exposure to some of the uncertainties that exist between an off-the-plan purchase and completion, including construction delays, cost pressures and builder insolvency during the delivery period.

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<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/equitifund-group">Projects by Equitifund</a> National Sales Director Ben Hamblett said that greater focus on tangible evidence is increasingly evident among apartment purchasers.

“The biggest shift we're seeing is buyers wanting proof, not promises,” Hamblett said.

“That's exactly why we deal in completed stock - you can inspect the building before you commit - and why we've backed every purchase with a cash bond against special levies.”

At <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/the-lennox-parramatta-12-phillip-street-parramatta-nsw-2150">The Lennox</a> in Parramatta, that emphasis on a completed, inspectable product is already in place.

The 413-apartment, 46-level tower at 12 Phillip Street is being marketed by Projects by Equitifund, allowing prospective purchasers to inspect the residences, common areas and resident facilities before committing.

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The Lennox also introduces another layer to the due-diligence conversation through Strata Surety.

The vendor-funded arrangement provides purchasers with a cash-backed bond held in their own solicitor's trust account from settlement. According to Equitifund, the bond covers any special levy raised during the applicable cover period and is provided at no cost to the purchaser.

Special levies can create an unexpected cost for apartment owners where an owners corporation needs funding beyond its existing strata contributions. Under NSW strata law, a special levy requires approval by owners at a general meeting.

Equitifund Executive Chairman Greg Huxley said Strata Surety was designed to provide something more concrete than reassurance about that potential exposure.

“Buyers have every right to ask hard questions about strata risk - the industry has given them plenty of reasons to,” Huxley said.

“Our answer isn't a reassurance, it's a bond. Strata Surety puts real money behind that confidence, held by the buyer's own solicitor, not by us.”

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For The Lennox, its completed status also means purchasers can assess not only the apartment itself, but a building that has already been occupied and operating for several years.

Completed in 2021, the $300 million development, designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/marchese-partners">Marchese Partners</a>, comprises one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments, with open-plan living areas extending to private balconies. Interiors incorporate engineered timber flooring, stone benchtops and integrated appliances, while many upper-level residences have views across the river and surrounding district.

Its established amenity can similarly be inspected in operation. Resident facilities include the Watermark precinct with a 20-metre pool, outdoor terrace, barbecue areas, gym, fitness studio and conference room, while ground-floor retail addresses the river walk and surrounding public space.

The Lennox is also home to the Southern Hemisphere's first fully robotic residential car park, which has now operated for several years. Its nine-level basement combines three conventional parking levels with six automated levels, accommodating 327 vehicles using technology from German firm Lödige Industries.

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The riverfront address puts The Lennox close to much of central <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/parramatta-nsw-2150">Parramatta</a>'s existing infrastructure, including Parramatta Station, Westfield Parramatta, Parramatta Park, and the Church Street dining precinct.

The remaining apartments form part of a limited release secured by Equitifund, following the sale of the majority of residences before and shortly after completion.

The regulatory environment around NSW apartment construction has changed considerably since the defect cases that reshaped public discussion around the sector. For purchasers, however, regulation is only one part of the equation. The ability to investigate a building's history, review its strata position and, where possible, inspect what has actually been delivered remains central to making an informed apartment purchase.

At The Lennox, its completed status provides that opportunity before contracts are signed, while Strata Surety adds a financial backstop against special levies beyond the protections already provided under NSW strata law.

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Joel Robinson

Buying with confidence: What NSW apartment buyers should check beyond the defect headlines

Too often, heritage buildings become the podium for a contemporary tower. At <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/623-collins-607-623-collins-street-melbourne-vic-3000">623 Collins</a>, <a>Sterling Global</a> challenged its design team to reverse that process.

The brief to <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-studio">Plus Studio</a> was deliberately simple: "Don't design around the heritage. Design from it." It became the philosophy behind a project that draws inspiration not only from two landmark heritage buildings, but from Collins Street itself, a street layered with architectural history and civic significance.

That philosophy has shaped one of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/melbourne-vic-3000">Melbourne</a> CBD's most considered residential projects, where the 1924 State Savings Bank and neighbouring Batman's Hill Hotel have become the architectural foundation for 623 Collins rather than remnants preserved beneath a new development.

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Rather than approaching the site as a blank canvas, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sterling-global">Sterling Global</a> saw the existing buildings as the beginning of the story.

"Sites like this rarely become available," the developer said.

"623 Collins wasn't simply an opportunity to develop a prominent CBD site. It was an opportunity to restore and reimagine one of Melbourne's important heritage landmarks while contributing to the continued evolution of Collins Street. For us, the existing buildings weren't constraints. They were the beginning of the story."

Instead of mimicking the ornate heritage architecture, Plus Studio studied the proportions, rhythm and craftsmanship of the original buildings before translating those characteristics into a contemporary 42-storey tower.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145324 project_image_fid=372748]

"The brief challenged us to create a contemporary landmark that respected Melbourne's architectural history without becoming nostalgic," Plus Studio said.

"Rather than mimicking heritage, we sought to understand its proportions, rhythm and material language before translating those qualities into a distinctly contemporary architectural expression."

The practice says the State Savings Bank and Batman's Hill Hotel became the project's primary source of inspiration, allowing the heritage buildings and contemporary architecture to exist "in conversation rather than contrast." Generous planted terraces further soften the transition between old and new, creating elevated green spaces while reinforcing the dialogue between the restored podium and the contemporary tower.

That dialogue continues throughout the interiors, where Melbourne designer Fiona Lynch developed a material palette inspired by the idea of alchemy, balancing contrasting materials that reference both the Neo-Grec detailing of the original bank and contemporary urban living. The result is a series of spaces that feel timeless rather than trend-driven.

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The project will deliver 316 residences across four collections, Heirloom, Signature, Reserve and the Penthouse Collection, with each responding differently to its position within the building, from the restored heritage podium through to the upper levels of the tower. The Heirloom Residences retain defining heritage elements including original heritage windows, generous proportions and high ceilings, while the tower introduces contemporary homes with expansive layouts and elevated views.

Amenities have likewise been designed to support long-term city living rather than short-stay convenience. Residents will have access to concierge services, wellness facilities including a pool, cold plunge, sauna, steam room and gym, alongside private lounges, entertaining spaces and dedicated resident clubs.

Sterling Global says that approach is resonating with buyers seeking permanence rather than novelty.

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According to the sales team, purchasers are looking for enduring architecture, generous floorplans, heritage character and long-term value, with many commenting that 623 Collins "doesn't feel like another apartment development" because of the way the architecture has been curated around the site's history.

Situated on the prominent corner of Collins and Spencer streets, the project occupies one of Melbourne's most recognisable gateway sites, marking the western entrance to the city's best-known street. For Sterling Global, it also reflects a broader shift in city-making.

"Rather than maximising development yield, the project embraces adaptive reuse as a design philosophy, allowing heritage to inform architecture, interiors and the overall resident experience," the developer said.

"The result is a building that feels uniquely connected to Melbourne."

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=145324]

How Sterling Global designed 623 Collins from Melbourne's history

Avant Townhomes is adding to Ivanhoe’s family-sized housing options with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/three-82-ivanhoe-382-upper-heidelberg-road-ivanhoe-vic-3079">Three 82</a>, a collection of just 16 four-bedroom townhomes on Upper Heidelberg Road.

The <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/intrapac-property">Intrapac Property</a> townhome division has taken a contemporary approach to the traditional family home, pairing larger floorplans with the lower-maintenance format of a townhouse.

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Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/arcadia-studio">Arcadia</a>, with landscaping by Landsite, the homes feature generous open-plan living and dining areas that connect directly to outdoor spaces, with layouts also designed to maximise natural light and privacy.

Natural stone is used throughout the interiors, including in kitchens that pair stone surfaces with bespoke cabinetry, considered storage and SMEG appliances.

The four-bedroom layouts include built-in wardrobes and a main bedroom with its own ensuite, while family bathrooms service the additional bedrooms. Each home also includes a lock-up double garage and intercom entry.

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Energy efficiency has been incorporated into the design through solar panels, double glazing and reverse-cycle heating and cooling, with the homes targeting 7-star energy ratings.

Rather than incorporating extensive communal facilities, Three 82 has been conceived around private residential amenity, with the 16-home scale keeping the focus on individual homes and their own indoor and outdoor spaces.

The development is located at 382 Upper Heidelberg Road, around one kilometre from Ivanhoe Village's cafés and retail and a short drive from Eaglemont Station and Ivanhoe Station.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152069 project_image_fid=374393]

Several of Ivanhoe's established schools are also nearby, including Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar and Ivanhoe Grammar School. The address also provides access to the suburb's parklands and the wider Yarra River corridor.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/nelson-alexander">Nelson Alexander</a> has been appointed to handle sales.

Construction is underway and progressing well, with Three 82 currently tracking toward completion in Q2 2027.

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Three 82 brings boutique four-bedroom townhome collection to Ivanhoe

Builder-developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/graya">Graya</a> has secured a prime Newstead site from fellow developer Fraser, subsequently lodging plans for The Silo, a major mixed-use residential project in Newstead designed around a new public laneway linking the James Street precinct with the wider Gasworks and Newstead neighbourhood.

Proposed for the corner of Chester and Morse streets, the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/bureauproberts">Bureau^Proberts</a>-designed project places its strongest emphasis at ground level, where retail, landscaping and a new cobblestone pedestrian connection would open the site to the surrounding neighbourhood. The design team describes The Silo as “more than a residential building”, positioning the development as an extension of Newstead’s public realm rather than a standalone apartment tower.

“A new cobblestone laneway and landscaped connection between James Street and Gasworks unlock a missing pedestrian link, improving walkability and stitching together two of Brisbane’s significant urban destinations,” Bureau Proberts said in its Urban Design Report.

<img alt="First look: Graya plans The Silo as new pedestrian link between James Street and Gasworks" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0ea1b06a-75f5-40a5-b2c5-33c97bc86052" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/silo%20bldg.png?VersionId=KmjsAtNePu57_B31EM_DJ5T6KPJHtcmo" />

The Silo is planned as a mixed-use development incorporating apartments alongside a bar and centre activities including food and drink outlets, indoor sport and recreation, office and retail uses.

Architecturally, Bureau Proberts has conceived the building as a collection of vertically expressed, stepping forms rather than a single uniform tower. The composition rises from an articulated podium before being broken by a triple-height landscaped recreation level, with the upper section becoming more compact before terminating in a landscaped rooftop garden.

The project's name and architectural language draw directly from Newstead's industrial history. Patterned off-form concrete is proposed as the principal façade material, complemented by slender metal rod balustrades and extensive planting. The cylindrical and vertically ribbed elements give the building its silo-like expression, while curved balconies and planted edges introduce a softer subtropical layer.

“The Silo reinterprets its robust forms, scale and materiality through a contemporary subtropical architectural expression, creating a building that acknowledges its industrial legacy, while responding to the way the precinct is occupied today,” Bureau^Proberts said.

The recreation level is one of the defining breaks in the tower. Plans include a lap pool, mature subtropical planting and shared resident facilities within an elevated communal garden. Landscaping continues through the podium and onto the rooftop, where a further garden forms what the architects describe as a “subtropical crown” to the building.

<img alt="First look: Graya plans The Silo as new pedestrian link between James Street and Gasworks" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="f8451036-35a4-49a9-8d88-2ef4438eba3d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Silo%20Lane.png?VersionId=h8N31_rYmCEqoNrpt4kbYVQhJGZn60LH" />

At street level, the development has been designed to establish a more permeable block. Retail and hospitality tenancies address the public realm, while landscaped pedestrian spaces lead into the new laneway connection. Renders in the design report show the proposed “Silo Lane” as a substantial opening through the podium, framed by cylindrical concrete forms with cascading planting above.

The Silo continues Graya's move into larger apartment developments after building its reputation across high-end residential projects in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Graya buys Frasers Newstead site, plans The Silo between James Street and Gasworks precincts

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/wickton">Wickton</a>’s completed Linacre Rise development in Hampton is giving Bayside downsizers the opportunity to move into a spacious apartment near the beach, with the developer covering stamp duty for a limited time.

The 27-residence development has been designed for buyers who want to simplify their living arrangements without giving up the space, warmth and quality associated with a long-term family home. Most apartments have already been secured by Bayside locals, leaving a select collection of two and three-bedroom residences and penthouses available.

Two-bedroom apartments are priced from $1.275 million, three-bedroom residences from $2.25 million and penthouses from $3.375 million, with the completed homes available to inspect and move into now.

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<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/linacre-rise-hampton-8-10-linacre-road-hampton-vic-3188">Linacre Rise</a> occupies an elevated position on one of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/hampton-vic-3188">Hampton</a>’s quiet, tree-lined streets, around 250 metres from the bay and 500 metres from Hampton’s village centre. Its setting gives residents access to the beach, local cafés, shops and Hampton Train Station while retaining the feel of an established residential neighbourhood.

Architecture and interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ewert-leaf">Ewert Leaf</a> draw on the warmth and permanence of traditional brickwork, with the building integrated into terraced landscaping by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/john-patrick-landscape-architects">John Patrick</a>. Ground-floor apartments are elevated above the street and include private garden courtyards, while several upper-level residences have generous balconies and outlooks toward the bay.

Inside, the residences favour natural materials and generous proportions. Herringbone-pattern European oak flooring, natural stone benchtops, premium joinery and Swiss V-ZUG appliances are among the key inclusions, while integrated storage has been incorporated across kitchens, bathrooms, studies and living areas.

The kitchens have been planned as practical spaces for both everyday use and entertaining, with substantial island benches, detailed cabinetry and adjoining dining and living zones. Full-height wardrobes, plush bedroom carpeting and carefully considered lighting reinforce the residential character Wickton sought to retain for buyers moving from larger homes.

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A Linacre Rise purchaser said the completed apartment had delivered the space, outlook and construction quality they had been seeking.

“The unit is very light, has views to die for over the bay, all construction materials and fittings are premium quality, we have secure parking for three cars, EV charging at very competitive rates, the neighbours are friendly and there is just a lovely ambiance about the place,” the purchaser said.

Environmental features include solar panels, shared electric vehicle charging stations, rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing and landscape irrigation, double-glazed windows and water-efficient fixtures and appliances.

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The development was built by Balmain &amp; Co, with Wickton managing the broader development process through its in-house team.

For downsizers, the project’s completed status removes much of the uncertainty associated with buying off the plan. Purchasers can inspect the finished apartments, understand their outlook and proportions, and move in without waiting for construction to conclude.

The remaining selection includes north-oriented balconies, corner configurations and penthouses with elevated bay views. The developer-paid stamp duty initiative is available for a limited time, with potential savings of up to $200,000 depending on the residence purchased.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=95289]

Limited-time stamp duty offer at completed Linacre Rise apartments in Hampton

Sydney’s property market is known for high prices, competitive bidding, and mounting pressure on first home buyers. But change is on the horizon.

From late 2025, eligible first home buyers in New South Wales will have access to a new federal government initiative aimed at addressing affordability: the Help to Buy Scheme.&nbsp;

<h2>What is the Help to Buy Scheme?</h2>

The program introduces a shared equity model intended to reduce the upfront cost of entering the property market, particularly in high-demand urban areas such as Sydney.

The scheme operates under a shared ownership structure in which the federal government takes an equity stake of up to 40 per cent for new homes, or 30 per cent for existing dwellings. This arrangement allows eligible buyers to significantly reduce their loan size and avoid the added cost of Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).

Under this model, purchasers can enter the property market with as little as a two per cent deposit, well below the traditional 10 to 20 per cent usually required. The government’s contribution is not a loan but a co-ownership stake in the property. As such, there is no interest or rent charged on its portion.

Because the government’s equity combined with the buyer’s deposit typically meets or exceeds the 20 per cent threshold, LMI does not apply. The remaining balance, generally between 60 and 70 per cent of the property’s value, is financed through a standard home loan with a participating lender.

The government's equity in the property remains in place until the buyer chooses to repay it voluntarily or until the property is sold. Buyers can buy back the government’s share over time, in increments of at least five per cent, depending on their financial situation.

There is no fixed repayment timeline, but the amount to be repaid will be based on the property's market value at the time of repayment, not the original purchase price.

<h2>How do you qualify for the&nbsp;Help to Buy Scheme?</h2>

To qualify for the Help to Buy Scheme, applicants must meet the following conditions:

<ul>
	<li>Be an Australian citizen at least 18 years of age.</li>
	<li>Be a first-home buyer who does not currently own property.</li>
	<li>Intend to live in the property as their primary residence.</li>
	<li>Earn less than $100,000 per year for individuals, or $160,000 for couples.</li>
	<li>Purchase a property within the regional price caps, currently $950,000 in Sydney, though this is expected to rise to approximately $1.3 million ahead of the program’s launch.</li>
</ul>

While the Help to Buy Scheme does not solve affordability challenges across the board, it does offer a more accessible pathway for a defined segment of the market, particularly younger buyers with moderate incomes who have been priced out of traditional lending routes.

The scheme is expected to commence in NSW in late 2025, as part of a national rollout.

Under the new model, purchasers can enter the property market with as little as a two per cent deposit, well below the traditional 10 to 20 per cent usually required

Help to Buy Scheme: What first home buyers in NSW need to know

The First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) is a government initiative designed to help eligible first-time home buyers by offering financial assistance towards the purchase or construction of a new home.

While the FHOG is a nationwide program, it is administered separately by each state and territory, meaning the eligibility criteria, grant amounts, and property requirements can vary depending on your location. This means that the amount available and the conditions attached to the grant will differ, so it is important to check the specific guidelines for your state or territory.

It’s important to note that the FHOG is just one of several incentives available to first home buyers. In most states and territories, the grant is not linked to stamp duty exemptions or concessions, with the exception of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The FHOG is typically a one-off payment, reducing the overall cost of purchasing or building a new home before any stamp duty concessions are applied.

Below, we provide a breakdown of the First Home Owner Grants available across Australia, outlining the specific details for each state and territory.

<h2>New South Wales First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: Offers a $10,000 grant for new homes valued up to $600,000. For land purchases and owner-builders, the threshold extends to $750,000.

Stamp Duty Benefits: Provides full stamp duty exemption for homes valued up to $800,000, with concessions available for properties up to $1 million.

<h2>Victoria South Wales First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: Provides a $10,000 grant for first-home buyers purchasing or building new homes valued up to $750,000.

Stamp Duty Benefits: Offers full stamp duty exemption for properties up to $600,000, with concessions available up to $750,000.

<h2>Queensland First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: Offers $30,000 for contracts signed between 20 November 2023 and 30 June 2025. The FHOG applies to new homes valued up to $750,000.

Stamp Duty Concessions: Provides additional concessions for properties valued up to $800,000.

<h2>Western Australia First Home Owner Grant</h2>

&nbsp;

First Home Owner Grant: Offers a $10,000 grant for new homes valued up to $750,000 in the southern regions and up to $1 million in the northern regions.

Stamp Duty Concessions: Available for homes valued up to $600,000 for transactions entered into on or after 9 May 2024.

<h2>Australian Capital Territory First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: Replaced by the Home Buyer Concession Scheme, offering full stamp duty concessions for eligible buyers.

<h2>South Australia First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: Provides up to $15,000 for new homes, including houses, apartments, and townhouses. As of 6 June 2024, there is no property value cap for eligibility.

Stamp Duty Relief: Available for new homes and vacant land purchases.

<h2>Tasmania First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: Offers a $10,000 grant for new homes and off the plan purchases.

Stamp Duty Exemption: Between 18 February 2024 and 30 June 2026, first home buyers of established homes valued up to $750,000 receive a full exemption on property transfer duty.

<h2>Northern Territory First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: The Northern Territory provides a $10,000 grant for new homes only. Additional government grants and concessions are available for first home buyers.

Stamp Duty Exemption: The only stamp duty exemption available to property buyers is the House and Land Package Exemption (HLPE).

Eligibility criteria and application processes differ across states. Prospective buyers should refer to their respective state revenue offices for full details on grant availability, conditions, and additional concessions.

Every First Home Owner Grant for new property by state

In the ever-evolving landscape of sustainable architecture and environmentally conscious design, systems and ratings in place can help determine the energy efficiency of residential buildings in Australia.

Australia has multiple building rating systems that evaluate energy efficiency and sustainability in existing and new building designs.

Some systems assess individual building components, while others provide an overall rating for the entire structure.

A rating system ensures that homes are comfortable and energy-efficient, whether you are buying, renovating, or building.

NatHERS (Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme) is a common way for new homes to meet energy efficiency requirements.

As new developments continue to shape the urban environment, understanding NatHERS ratings becomes essential for developers and homeowners. This article delves into the concept of NatHERS ratings, their significance, and how they contribute to creating energy-efficient homes.

<h2>What is NatHERS?</h2>

NatHERS is a national initiative implemented by the Australian government to promote energy efficiency in residential buildings. The scheme aims to provide a standardised method for assessing the thermal performance of homes, considering factors such as insulation, orientation, ventilation, and building materials.&nbsp;

NatHERS ratings are the most common way new homes meet the National Construction Code's (NCC's) minimum energy efficiency requirements.&nbsp;

NatHERS assessments provide thermal and whole-home ratings for new homes, townhouses, and apartments.

The rating helps evaluate the energy performance of buildings, guides homeowners and developers to make informed decisions about the energy efficiency of their properties, and encourages the construction of more sustainable, comfortable, and cost-effective homes.

<h2>How NatHERS Ratings Work</h2>

NatHERS ratings are determined through four accredited software tools (AccuRate, BERS Pro, FirstRate5, HERO) using a calculation engine CSIRO developed to predict building temperature based on various factors.

The tools can model complex effects of building mass, insulation, window size, and other elements.

The outcome is a star rating that reflects the building's overall thermal efficiency, indicating how well it can maintain a comfortable indoor temperature without excessive reliance on heating or cooling systems.

The star rating scale ranges from 0 to 10, with a 6-star rating being the minimum requirement for compliance with the National Construction Code (NCC).&nbsp;

Achieving a higher star rating demonstrates a commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability, as the building is better equipped to minimise its environmental impact and reduce long-term energy costs.

Anyone can use NatHERS tools, but accredited assessors can provide certified ratings and professional advice.

<h2>Benefits of Higher NatHERS Ratings</h2>

Energy Efficiency: Buildings with higher NatHERS ratings are more energy-efficient, requiring less heating and cooling energy. This reduces the structure's carbon footprint and lowers occupants' energy bills.

Cost Savings: Homes with higher NatHERS ratings are generally more energy-efficient, resulting in reduced energy consumption for heating and cooling. This translates to lower energy bills for homeowners, making sustainable living environmentally friendly and economically viable in the long run.

Environmental Impact: Lower energy consumption directly translates to a reduced environmental impact. Buildings with higher NatHERS ratings contribute to the overall goal of mitigating climate change by lowering greenhouse gas emissions associated with heating and cooling systems.

Improved Comfort: Buildings with high NatHERS ratings offer better thermal comfort to occupants. Proper insulation, well-designed ventilation, and optimal orientation maintain a consistent and comfortable indoor temperature, providing occupants with a more enjoyable and healthier space.

Market Value and Desirability: Higher NatHERS ratings can enhance the market value of a property. As energy efficiency becomes a more significant consideration for homebuyers, a well-rated building may attract a premium price and stand out in the real estate market.

Compliance with Building Codes: NatHERS ratings are a vital component of the National Construction Code (NCC), and compliance with these ratings is often a mandatory requirement for new developments. Local councils and planning authorities may set minimum energy efficiency standards that must be met to obtain development approval.

The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) is a crucial initiative shaping the future of energy-efficient, resilient, and cost-effective homes. With its recent upgrades, NatHERS has evolved into a world-leading tool for the building sector, supporting the global commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Staff Writer

What is a NatHERS rating in new off the plan apartment developments?

Mixed-use developments have gained significant popularity across Australia in recent years due to their unique blend of residential, commercial, and recreational spaces.

Unlike traditional single-purpose developments, mixed-use projects offer a harmonious integration of various functions within a single locale.

Residential units seamlessly coexist with commercial establishments, retail outlets, dining venues, entertainment hubs, and recreational facilities, with the combination not only enhances convenience but also fosters a vibrant lifestyle and a sense of community.

<h3>Convenience and accessibility</h3>

Mixed-use developments are designed with convenience in mind. They often integrate residential units with commercial spaces, retail outlets, restaurants, and recreational facilities, creating a self-contained community.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=114215 project_image_fid=204874]

The proximity allows residents to enjoy the convenience of having essential amenities and services within walking distance. Whether it's grabbing a cup of coffee, going grocery shopping, or accessing healthcare services, everything is conveniently located, saving residents time and effort.

<h3>Vibrant lifestyle and community</h3>

One of the major advantages of mixed-use developments is the vibrant lifestyle they offer. With a diverse range of amenities and communal spaces, residents have ample opportunities to interact, socialise, and build a sense of community.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=107714 project_image_fid=214122]

The presence of parks, community centres, and shared spaces fosters a lively atmosphere, encouraging residents to engage in various activities and events. The vibrant lifestyle within these developments creates a unique sense of belonging and camaraderie among the residents.

<h3>Potential for higher rental yields and property value appreciation</h3>

Mixed-use developments tend to attract a broad range of tenants and buyers due to their versatile nature. This high demand can result in higher rental yields for investors and potentially lead to property value appreciation over time.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=139989 project_image_fid=212887]

The integration of commercial and retail spaces attracts businesses, which can provide a stable rental income stream. Additionally, the popularity of mixed-use developments often drives up property values, making them a potentially lucrative investment in the long term.

<h3>Enhanced security and maintenance</h3>

Mixed-use developments typically have comprehensive security measures in place. With controlled access points, CCTV surveillance, and professional security staff, residents can enjoy enhanced safety and peace of mind.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108019 project_image_fid=212658]

Additionally, these developments often have dedicated maintenance teams responsible for the upkeep of common areas, landscaping, and infrastructure. This ensures that the overall appearance and functionality of the development are well-maintained, creating a pleasant living environment for residents.

<h3>Live-work-play balance</h3>

One of the key attractions of mixed-use developments is the ability to achieve a desirable live-work-play balance. The integration of residential and commercial spaces allows residents to live closer to their workplaces, reducing commuting time and improving work-life balance.

The proximity to various amenities and recreational facilities encourages an active and healthy lifestyle. Residents can easily access fitness centres, parks, restaurants, and entertainment options, all within the same development, leading to a more fulfilling and convenient way of life.

alisonwarters@gmail.com

The top five reasons to buy in a mixed-use development

When buying a property, everyone needs to be aware of the additional costs that come as part of the buying process.

Often the largest outlay, after the deposit which goes to the bank, is stamp duty.

<h2 style="line-height: 1.38;">What is Stamp Duty?</h2>

Stamp duty is an extra tax to pay the government when you buy land, a property, and other certain assets.

It happens when the legal ownership is transferred. It can also be known as property transfer duty or transfer duty.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C32BWkB5--c" title="YouTube video player" width="660"></iframe>

<h2>Who pays Stamp Duty?</h2>

In some circumstances, you may get an exemption. For some states, you won’t have to pay for stamp duty if you are a first home buyer or a pensioner for houses under a particular price. There are also stamp duty concessions, where you may be entitled to a discount.

<h2>How much does Stamp Duty cost?</h2>

Each state has different rules which affect how much you need to pay. These rules can affect the rate you pay, and the timeframe you will need to pay in. Before you buy land or a property, make sure you check the up-to-date information for your state’s stamp duty.

You can use a free stamp duty calculator online to see approximately how much you’ll need to pay. Find out if you’re eligible for an exemption by enquiring on a project via Urban!

Overall, the stamp duty you need to pay will depend on:

<ul>
	<li aria-level="1">How much your land/property is worth</li>
	<li aria-level="1">Where your land/property is located</li>
	<li aria-level="1">What type of land/property it is</li>
</ul>

Want to find out more? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@UrbanAustralia?utm_source=YouTube&amp;utm_medium=Video&amp;utm_campaign=Subscribe&amp;utm_id=Subscribe">Subscribe to our YouTube channel</a> for more property videos.

Ellen Walker

Off-the-plan property explained: What is stamp duty?

For most Australians, buying an apartment is one of the biggest financial decisions they'll ever make

The location, floorplan and price are often the first considerations, but in recent years another question has become increasingly important: who is actually delivering the project?

A series of high-profile builder collapses, construction delays and defect concerns have fundamentally changed how many Victorians approach buying off the plan. The collapse of Porter Davis in 2023, which reportedly left around 1,700 homes unfinished, became one of the most visible examples of the risks that can emerge when a construction company fails. <a href="https://www.equifax.com.au/sites/default/files/lpassets/pdf/Final-Business-Market-Pulse-June-Sector-Deep-Dive-Report-2.pdf">Similar challenges across the broader construction sector</a> have left buyers asking more questions before signing a contract.

As Victoria continues encouraging higher-density housing to address supply shortages, transparency is becoming just as important as location or price.

One tool increasingly entering the conversation is the <a href="https://icirt.com/">Independent Construction Industry Rating Tool (iCIRT)</a>, an independent assessment framework designed to help buyers better understand the developer or builder behind a project. Originally developed by Equifax in consultation with government and industry as part of NSW's Construct NSW reforms, the system has since expanded nationally.

<h2 data-end="1519" data-section-id="7nmx3" data-start="1492">What is an iCIRT rating?</h2>

Most Australians are familiar with independent ratings in everyday life.

We compare ANCAP safety ratings before buying a car. We look at Health Star Ratings in supermarkets. Banks rely on credit assessments when lending money.

Until recently, however, there has been very little independent information available to help apartment buyers assess the business responsible for delivering a residential project.

That gap is what iCIRT was designed to address.

Builders, developers and other construction professionals with an iCIRT rating have demonstrated high-trust characteristics through an independent, evidence-based assessment across six criteria: Character, Capability, Conduct, Capacity, Capital and Counterparties. This involves a rigorous review of financial health, past project track record, and ethical conduct. Crucially, an iCIRT rating could help provide property buyers with confidence that they are working with a professional who has demonstrated the capability, capacity, and willingness to return and rectify issues.

Importantly, iCIRT is not a recommendation to purchase a particular property, nor is it a traditional credit rating. It is an independent assessment framework designed to provide objective information about a construction business using a <a href="https://icirt.com/sites/default/files/2025-08/iCIRT-Methodology-Issue1-May-2021.pdf">published methodology</a>.

The system has been widely adopted in New South Wales, where more than one-third of medium and large residential builders and developers now hold an iCIRT rating, representing over two-thirds of the state's residential building market by value as of 2025/26.

<h2 data-end="3126" data-section-id="h6ohtj" data-start="3084">Why buyers are doing more due diligence</h2>

For many buyers, particularly those purchasing off the plan, the biggest risk isn't whether they'll like the kitchen finishes.

It's whether the project will be delivered on time, to the expected quality, and by a company capable of completing the development.

<a href="https://icirt.com/sites/default/files/2026-07/iCIRT%202025%20Consumer%20Survey%20Report%20v05.pdf">Consumer research commissioned by iCIRT</a> found more than half of respondents believed current protections do not adequately safeguard buyers from builder insolvencies or defective projects. Other research found 88 per cent of prospective buyers would seek independent ratings or due diligence before purchasing, while 90 per cent said trust in construction professionals is essential.

That doesn't mean buyers should rely on a single rating alone.

Independent legal advice, understanding the contract, and seeking financial advice all remain important parts of the due diligence process.

However, an independent assessment can provide another source of information alongside those traditional checks.

<h2 data-end="4138" data-section-id="pquzxc" data-start="4094">Trust is becoming a competitive advantage</h2>

The conversation isn't only changing for buyers.

Developers are also recognising that trust has become an increasingly important part of the sales process.

Five years ago, purchasers typically asked about floorplans, finishes and settlement dates.

Today, sales teams are increasingly being asked about the developer's experience, financial stability, previous projects and construction partners.

For companies with strong governance and established delivery records, an independent iCIRT rating provides another way to demonstrate those credentials before buyers even visit a display suite.

According to Equifax, the assessment can also help businesses drive sales and <a href="https://icirt.com/resources-for-business/icirt-rating-helps-scion-secure-high-value-projects">secure high-value projects</a>, as well as identify operational improvements and <a href="https://icirt.com/resources-for-business/mirvac-reinforces-brand-trust-and-quality-independent-icirt-rating">attract top talent</a>.

<h2 data-end="4962" data-section-id="1j54ng5" data-start="4912">Beyond buyers: lenders are paying attention too</h2>

The influence of independent construction ratings is also extending beyond consumers.

According to Stamford Capital's Real Estate Debt Capital Markets Survey, an increasing number of lenders now incorporate iCIRT ratings into their due diligence processes when assessing residential development finance applications.

The survey found lender adoption has continued to rise, with many respondents saying independent assessments provide additional insight into governance, counterparties and delivery capability beyond traditional financial analysis. Some lenders also reported declining funding applications where businesses had poor or no ratings.

As construction costs remain elevated and access to development finance becomes more selective, demonstrating credibility is becoming increasingly valuable.

<h2 data-end="5801" data-section-id="1qazuxs" data-start="5772">What it means for Victoria</h2>

Victoria's apartment market is entering a new phase.

The state is seeking to accelerate higher-density housing while simultaneously introducing reforms aimed at improving confidence in residential construction.

For buyers, that means there are more tools available than ever before to research the businesses behind a project.

For developers, it signals that transparency is becoming another point of differentiation in an increasingly competitive market.

Buyers are asking more questions than ever before and increasingly expecting independent information, not just marketing material, before making one of the biggest financial commitments of their lives.

Find out how to get iCIRT rated <a href="https://www.icirt.com/sites/default/files/2025-08/iCIRT-Infographic-Assessment-Process-Final.pdf">here</a>.

<hr data-end="6469" data-start="6466" />
The information contained in this article is general in nature and does not constitute personal, financial, legal or tax advice. It does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Therefore, you should consider whether the information is appropriate to your circumstances before acting on it and, where appropriate, seek independent professional advice.

This article contains links to third-party websites. These links are provided for convenience only. Equifax Australia does not control and is not responsible for the content, accuracy or privacy practices of external sites.

Copyright © 2026 Equifax Australia Information Services and Solutions Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.

Buying off-the-plan in Melbourne? How independent iCIRT ratings are set to change Victorian property

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Eight regional centres scattered across NSW, Victora, Queensland and WA – not all of them tied to the mining boom – will present property investors with the best opportunities for capital growth in 2013, according hotspotting.com.au’s Terry Ryder.
In a <a href="/news">Property Observer</a><a href="/news"> webinar</a>, Ryder said the growth seen over 2012 had been “primarily seen in the regions” with some “good growth” in Darwin and “to a lesser extent” in Perth.
“But the places producing double digit growth are all in the regions,” he says.
Regional locations, Ryder says, give investors the opportunity to buy at more affordable prices and have very good prospects for growth, “as long as you pick the right ones”.
According to Ryder, these are the eight regional locations investors should take a look at:
<a href="/news">Albury </a>/<a href="/news">Wodonga </a>(NSW/Victoria) <img src="/images/stories/2012/12/ryderslide1.jpg">
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
 
 
<a href="/news">Dubbo </a>(NSW)
<img src="/images/stories/2012/12/ryderslide2.jpg">
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
 
<a href="/news">Toowoomba </a>(Queensland)
<img src="/images/stories/2012/12/ryderslide3.jpg">
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
<a href="/news">Mount Isa</a> (Queensland)
<img src="/images/stories/2012/12/ryderslide4.jpg">
 
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<a href="/news">Bendigo </a>(Victoria)
 
<img src="/images/stories/2012/12/ryderslide5.jpg">
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
<a href="/news">Mudgee </a>(NSW)
 
<img src="/images/stories/2012/12/ryderslide6.jpg">
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
<a href="/news">Mackay </a>(Queensland)
 
<img src="/images/stories/2012/12/ryderslide7.jpg">
 
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<a href="/news">Geraldton </a>(WA)
 
<img src="/images/stories/2012/12/ryderslide9.jpg">
Click on the following pages for details on each location. The entire webinar can be listened on  <a href="/news">Property Observer.</a>
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lschlesinger-FZcF9M3vE6

Terry Ryder's eight regional hotspots for 2013: The key webinar slides

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During the week I received scores of emails from cash investors who are either retired or are on the verge of it and are alarmed at the direction of official interest rates, which hit 3% last week.
These people are alarmed because with inflation at 2% (and core inflation at 2.8%) and the average cash yield from banks at 3.5% (soon to be lower), their investments aren’t earning much more than the cost of living.
A lot of these people have retreated from shares due to their volatility but now find themselves relying on either money in transaction accounts or term deposits.
In the latest Australian Taxation Office breakdown of the investments in self-managed superannuation funds, the largest asset class is “cash and term deposits”, at 30.7%.
The retreat from shares into government-guaranteed cash has made people feel safe in the short term, but now also vulnerable.
So what to do? Here are some thoughts:
1. Transaction accounts, cash management accounts, term deposits and accelerated savings accounts are all capital guaranteed by the government up to $250,000 per person. They are all zero risk.
2. You can find a better yield than a transaction account’s 0% without taking on more risk. I’m sure that the institution you save with has another product that rewards savers by paying them up to 4%, and it also has term deposits that pay more than that.
3. You can diversify your investments within capital-guaranteed investments; you don’t need all your cash in one account. Why not have a lump of funds constantly being rolled over in 90-day term deposits, and some others in one-year TDs? Then have a large amount of your savings in a high-yield online savings account, and have the interest paid into your transaction account.
4. Don’t forget bonds. Typically they come in the form of government bonds, corporate bonds, bank bonds and bank covered bonds. Many bonds are low-risk debt products that yield good returns, and retail investors can invest in them, usually in a retail fund environment. Some of these funds have been returning as high as 7-8%t p.a. to their investors.
5. Get advice. From what I am seeing, cash investors are staying away from advisers or they’re unhappy with the amount of interest shown in cash investors by advisers. I suggest that instead of dropping out of financial advice altogether, you search for a planner with an interest in cash investment strategies and then adopt a more active approach. Don’t make cash a ‘set-and-forget’ option.
If you look at all of the cash and bond options, your available yields move from 0% to 8% p.a.
As interest rates move down, your job is to find more yield with little risk. I’ll be interested to see how you go. <a target="_blank" href="mailto:mark@ybr.com.au">Send me an email</a>.
Mark Bouris is executive chairman of <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ybr.com.au/">Yellow Brick Road</a>, a financial services company offering home loans, financial planning, accounting and tax, and insurance.
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mbouris-tauSvXGAM2

Five tips to increasing your savings in a low-interest-rate environment

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If you want to be achieve financial freedom at a younger age, you will need to think and act differently to the herd. If you adopt the same approach as most people (striving for a high-paying job, two nice cars and the most expensive house you can afford), it stands to reason that you will probably achieve the same results as most people. 
For our generation, this is likely to mean working until at least 65 – and possibly far beyond, as retirement ages look set to increase to 70 – and taking a substantial cut in earnings upon retirement. You will need to think differently and be prepared to take another course of action. 
Why not consider shunning buying your own home to live in and renting instead? Part of the problem with buying a hugely expensive house to live in is that you never seem to have enough left over at the end of the month for anything, let alone building a sizeable portfolio of investments. 
Renting is often significantly cheaper than buying a property, partly because interest rates tend to be higher than rental yields, and partly because the landlord retains responsibility for repair costs, strata fees and insurance. Renting can afford you the luxury of investing heavily instead of being tied to a huge monthly mortgage repayment. 
If you were to rent instead of buying a property to live in, there are limitless choices as to where you can allocate your assets.  
The traditional growth assets are shares and property, so a more moderate approach would be to consider some fixed interest investments (e.g. bonds) and some diversified funds. The most aggressive approach would be to shun diversification and invest exclusively in property and/or shares. 
The neat thing about this approach is that because you have not lumbered yourself with a huge mortgage, you can instead take out multiple mortgages and have tenants pay them off for you. 
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
 
An interesting statistic is that a high percentage of self-made millionaires in many countries are immigrants. There could be any number of reasons for this. My view is that immigrants are more likely to become self-made millionaires because they are less inclined to be restricted by generally accepted rules. 
Immigrants do not worry what a close circle of friends and family may think of their strategies; they only concern themselves with delivering results. Too many of us do not dare to take the different road for fear of failure, and instead worry about what our peer group will say about us if we fail. 
Here’s a short anecdote: while travelling in Darwin, my wife and I were threatened on a bus by a drunken old lady and her man. The driver made the couple leave the bus, but the old lady returned with a broken brick to smash the window right next to our faces. Nothing much came of it and we were OK. 
I later recounted this story to a friend in Sydney, and he said, ‘You are a millionaire, with all those shares and properties, and you take a bus? A bus! I would never, ever travel on a bus out of principle. I always take taxis. Everywhere.’ 
Although I didn’t respond by saying so, a gross oversimplification of the truth is that I’m a millionaire because I am prepared to take a bus. 
You may not believe that small savings make a difference, but if over time you carefully consider the impact of all your expenditure, seemingly small changes can make a monumental difference to your wealth. 
This is especially true if you choose to invest the savings in appreciating assets such as shares and index funds. Even Warren Buffett has been known to pick up a 10 cent coin from the floor of an elevator: ‘…the start of my next million.’ 
If you are young and the house you want to live in seems forever beyond your reach, think outside the box. Cancel useless subscriptions or the gym membership you don’t use. Get a cheaper mobile phone plan and invest the savings in shares or an index fund. 
If, unlike me, you have wealthy parents, ask them to join you in buying an investment unit, with them supplying some of the deposit, and buy in a cheaper suburb or city that you can afford. Then, you will at least have a foothold in the property market, so that it doesn’t seem to increase in value while remaining forever beyond your reach. 
The options are too numerous to list here. At some stages of the economic cycle you may be able to find a mortgage broker who can help you find a bank that will lend you 95% or even 100% of an investment property’s value, and then, perhaps not too far down the track, that investment property will grow significantly in value so that you can refinance it and buy three more investment properties. 
The specifics will differ for each person, but the fundamental concept is the same. If you can begin to appreciate and believe that it is possible to escape the rat race, then you will automatically begin to reduce the wasting of money on unnecessary items. Start small and grow big. This is the very essence of wealth creation through investment. 
Remember, it is all too easy to be a lemming and to follow your peers over the financial cliff – no individual lemming ever received bad press for failing in the conventional way. It takes guts to take the different path.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/12/wargentbook.jpg" style="margin: 5px; float: left;">
Pete Wargent holds a range of finance and property qualifications and is the author of <a target="_blank" href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com.au/">Get a Financial Grip – a simple plan for financial freedom.</a>
 
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Dare to be different in property investment

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The federal government appears happy to allow the state governments of NSW and Queensland to break their commitment to offer “universal” first-home owner grants following the two states' decisions earlier this year to only incentivise new home purchases.
Since September 12 in Queensland and October 1 in NSW, first-home owners qualify for a $15,000 state government handout if they buy or build a new home.
First-home buyers who purchase an existing home receive nothing.
These decisions, aimed at stimulating the residential construction sector, are in clear contravention of state government commitments to provide a “universal” first home owner schemes (FHOS) to all buyers".
This looks set to change with the <a href="https://www.gstdistributionreview.gov.au/content/Content.aspx?doc=reports/finaloctober2012/00executivesummary.htm#P130_11433" target="_blank">GST Distribution Review Final Report </a>released at the end of November recommending that the states be relieved of their obligation to offer a universal FHOS grant.
“It should become a matter for States’ own policy decisions as to what financial assistance should be offered for new home buyers,” says recommendation 11.4.
It is now up to federal treasurer Wayne Swan to make consult with the states before making his final decision.
However, the states have not had any kind of reprimand, despite offering an incentive that has been called nothing more than a “builders incentive” and flying in the face of logic, given that a higher proportion of first-home buyers wish to buy an existing home than a new home.
This iss borne out in the latest Mortgage Choice consumer survey, which found that more than 47% of first-home buyers looking to purchase in the next two years are looking to buy an existing property with less than a quarter (22%) considering building or buying a new – the remainder are undecided.
In response to a number of questions from Property Observer a spokesperson for the Federal Treasurer’s office said that “regrettably” there was not much that could be said.
Property Observer had asked what is the Treasury’s position was on NSW and Queensland breaching their obligations by adopting these new grant arrangements and whether the Treasury accepted the view that these have become “builders grants” not a first-home buyers grant?
Instead, Property Observer was directed to the following paragraph in the media release issued following the release of the GST Distribution Review Final Report.
“I look forward to discussing the Panel's recommendations with State and Territory Treasurers at the Standing Council on Federal Financial Relations meeting on 17 December 2012, prior to announcing the Commonwealth's position once the Government has given thorough consideration to the complex issues addressed by the Report,” said Wayne Swan.
Speaking to Property Observer in November, Ray White chairman Brian White said the new grants were distorting the market “and not in a healthy way".
“It’s no longer a first-home buyer’s grant but a builder’s incentive,” said White who labelled it deceitful to describe it as a first-home buyer’s grant.
His comments follows the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/reia-says-all-first-home-buyers-should-get-the-fhbg-not-just-those-buying-new-homes/2012102557430">Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) voicing concern</a> at the decisions by the NSW and Queensland governments as well as plans by South Australian government to end its $7,000 universal first-home owner grant in June 2014.
"Not only is this in breach of the InterGovernmental Agreement (IGA) but it ignores the evidence that 70% of first-home buyers have a clear preference for established houses,” said REIA president Pamela Bennett.
“The IGA clearly states that assistance to first-home buyers will be uniform and that an eligible home will be new or established.
Bennett also claimed that first home buyers of established homes “often embark on a program of home-improvement and renovation, which helps stimulate the building sector”.
WA, Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory continue to offer a universal $7,000 first-home owner grant.
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Wayne Swan set to assist NSW and Queensland push towards 'builders' first-home owner grants

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The Greater Building Society has cut its standard variable home loan and basic variable home loan rates by 20 basis points to 6.05% p.a (comparison rate of 6.11%) and 5.69% (comparison rate of 5.75%) respectively.
The Newcastle-based mutual lender has passed on the full rate cut to package home loan borrowers with their rate falling to 5.49% (comparison rate 5.85%).
The reduced variable rates take effect from December 15.
The Greater’s standard variable rate is 0.37 percentage points below the average of the rates of the major four banks (assuming ANZ also reduces its rates by 0.20 per cent next Friday).
“Under the new rates, a person taking out a 30 year $300,000 Greater Building Society standard variable home loan would be $82,000 better off than someone taking out the same loan with Westpac,” says Greater CEO Don Magin
“For little effort you can save thousands of dollars off your loan, that is a pretty hefty pay packet,” he says.
“People are throwing their hard earned money away by not switching and switching is easier than most people think.”
Customers on a 30 year standard variable or basic home loan of $300,000 will see their monthly repayments reduce by $39.
The building society is encouraging borrowers to maintain their current payments and use the rate cut to get ahead on their home loan and pay it off sooner.
The Greater recently surveyed 100 of its customers and 98% indicated they were maintaining their repayments when rates were cut.
A Greater borrower who hasn’t changed their payments since rates fell in May has saved themselves approximately $140,000 in interest over the life of their loan and will repay it six years earlier.
Property Observer readers can get great refinancing tips from two free webinars we have run this year: <a href="/news">How smart property buyers and investors should approach refinancing in the current environment</a> and,<a href="/news">The Do's and Don’ts of Refinancing Your Existing Home Loan ... and How to Avoid Unnecessary Hurdles</a>.
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Greater Building Society cuts standard variable rates by 20 basis points to 6.05%

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NSW prospective buyers have the greatest appetite for off-the-plan apartments and house and land packages, according to the latest consumer sentiment survey by Mortgage Choice.
Mortgage Choice surveyed 1,025 customers of which around 400 said they would like to buy a property in the next two years.
Of these who intend to make a purchase over this time frame, buying an existing property remains the choice of at least one in two prospective buyers (50.6%) with just over one in 10 looking to buy a newly built home and around one in twenty looking to either buy an apartment off-the-plan or buy land to build their first home. 
A high proportion of prospective buyers (27.8%) remain undecided between existing and new property.
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="379"><tbody>
<tr>
<td width="95" nowrap valign="top"></td>
<td width="70" nowrap valign="top">
National
</td>
<td width="59" valign="top">
NSW
</td>
<td width="57" valign="top">
VIC
</td>
<td width="56" valign="top">
QLD
</td>
<td width="41" valign="top">
WA
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="95" valign="top">
Existing property
</td>
<td width="70" nowrap valign="top">
50.6%
</td>
<td width="59" nowrap valign="top">
48.1%
</td>
<td width="57" nowrap valign="top">
53.3%
</td>
<td width="56" nowrap valign="top">
48.1%
</td>
<td width="41" nowrap valign="top">
53.1%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="95" valign="top">
Newly built property
</td>
<td width="70" nowrap valign="top">
12.2%
</td>
<td width="59" nowrap valign="top">
12.0%
</td>
<td width="57" nowrap valign="top">
11.5%
</td>
<td width="56" nowrap valign="top">
14.3%
</td>
<td width="41" nowrap valign="top">
12.4%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="95" valign="top">
Off the plan property
</td>
<td width="70" nowrap valign="top">
5.5%
</td>
<td width="59" nowrap valign="top">
8.9%
</td>
<td width="57" nowrap valign="top">
3.6%
</td>
<td width="56" nowrap valign="top">
2.6%
</td>
<td width="41" nowrap valign="top">
7.2%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="95" valign="top">
Land to build a property on
</td>
<td width="70" nowrap valign="top">
4.0%
</td>
<td width="59" nowrap valign="top">
5.1%
</td>
<td width="57" nowrap valign="top">
2.4%
</td>
<td width="56" nowrap valign="top">
5.2%
</td>
<td width="41" nowrap valign="top">
3.8%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="95" valign="top">
Unsure yet
</td>
<td width="70" nowrap valign="top">
27.8%
</td>
<td width="59" nowrap valign="top">
25.9%
</td>
<td width="57" nowrap valign="top">
29.1%
</td>
<td width="56" nowrap valign="top">
29.9%
</td>
<td width="41" nowrap valign="top">
23.4%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="95" nowrap valign="top"></td>
<td width="70" nowrap valign="top"></td>
<td width="59" nowrap valign="top"></td>
<td width="57" nowrap valign="top"></td>
<td width="56" nowrap valign="top"></td>
<td width="41" nowrap valign="top"></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
 Demand for established homes is highest among prospective buyers from Victoria and WA, the survey shows and lowest in NSW and Queensland – two states where the state government is incentivising first-home buyers to build or buy new homes.
Among those looking buy, nearly one in 10 in NSW (8.9%) are looking to buy off-the-plan, the highest percentage of all the major states followed WA (7.2%), Victoria (3.6%) and Queensland (2.6%).
Around one in 20 prospective buyers in NSW and Queensland are looking to buy land to build a new house on, according to the survey.
Demand for land is weakest Victoria with just 2.4% of Victorian prospective buyers looking to buy residential land on the fringes to build their home.
This result will send further alarm bells ringing among Victorian developers following September quarter findings of the National Land Survey Program, which found that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/land/one-in-three-melbourne-residential-lots-being-returned-to-developers-by-building-firms-report/2012112958179">30% of Melbourne land is being returned by builders.</a>
Of those who intend to buy over the next two years, almost one third (30%) will be first homebuyers, 25% are looking to buy their next home and a very proprtion - 45% - will be investors.
“This investor confidence is very good news. With interest rates the lowest they have been for some time and property prices remaining subdued in parts of the country it is clear from the research that many investors feel that this presents a good buying environment in Australia,” says Mortgage Choice spokesperson Belinda Williamson.
 
Other key statistics to emerge from the survey include: 
 
<ul>
<li>
Rental squeeze: 39% of consumers feel tighter rental vacancy rates and/or rising rents is having an effect on property prices in their state and on them personally. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
Property prices: 34% of those surveyed believe Australian property prices will increase over the next 12 months, 16% believe they will decrease, 34% believe prices will remain stable and 16% don’t know. </li>
</ul>
 
<ul>
<li>
The property purchase process: When asked how well informed respondents were about the property purchase process, 19% were well informed, 33% know the essentials, 35% have some idea and 14% have no idea.  
</li>
</ul>
 
<ul>
<li>
The switch to fixed: 45% of mortgage holders will consider switching to a fixed term loan when lenders’ fixed rates fall below 5%.</li>
<li> Using a mortgage broker: 65% of respondents will consider using a mortgage broker in the future.</li>
</ul>
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Appetite for new properties strongest in NSW: Mortgage Choice survey

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The struggling prestige end of the residential market is expected to be boosted by the federal government’s new fast-track investor visa aimed at bringing in capital from wealthy Asian immigrants.
The new Significant Investor Stream Visa requires an investment of at least $5 million in state/territory bonds; an ASIC regulated managed investment fund; or, a direct investment in an Australian company, which would include investments in commercial property backing a business such as a hotel, lodge or other tourism business.
The visa allows immigrants to skip over skilled migration requirements such as being proficient in English while requiring that immigrants only spend a minimum of 40 days a year in Australia over the four-year visa period.
There is also no upper age limit and the main applicant does not have to meet the business points test.
Such investors are also likely to require somewhere to live and may have further funds to invest in both the residential and commercial property market.
According to Sandie Dunne, who runs prestige property specialist Dunne Mosman on the Sydney lower North shore, the new legislation is already having an impact with “several local top end sales under negotiation”.
“There has been a rise in enquiry for high priced properties which have languished on the market for a while," she says.
According to Dunne, even a handful of new buyers from this source will make a difference and bring back confidence in the sector.
“Hopefully we will see sellers listing their properties in the New Year,” she says.
Rob Forde, CEO of Harcourts NSW, sees benefits not just to the top end market but the economy in general, with flow on effect across a number of markets.
“High net worth investors will generally have sound entrepreneurial and business experience which will help to further drive the economy. There are requirements for the investors after their purchase to spend at least 40 days per year in Australia for the time they hold the visa, helping to contribute to local economy.
“Regardless, if the investors stay in Australia they will continue to pay taxes on their Australian property (stamp duty, rates and land tax), which will help in the continued development of infrastructure and contribute towards state budgets which are in need of increased revenue,” Forde says.
The launch of the visas late last month has triggered interest from Asian-based commercial property investors.
CBRE Hotels’ Wayne Bunz and Mullins Lawyers’ Curt Schatz and Tony Hogarth have been advising numerous Asian based investors who have shown keen interest in the hotel market since the introduction of the visas was mooted earlier this year.
They expect further movement by a number of those parties in the hotel investment sphere in 2013.
“The purchase of a hotel, hotel resort or an island with tourist facilities, for example, would be a qualifying business, whereas an investment in vacant land to be held for long term capital gain or rental property might not comply,” says Bunz
“A number of Chinese groups have inspected assets we have had on the market in recent months, many of whom have watched with keen interest to see the final form of the Significant Investor Visa. We are expecting significant interest in this visa from investors considering the Day Dream Island Resort and Spa.”
Foreign investment review board (FIRB) requirements must still be met. However, most commercial enterprises have a substantial financial threshold (currently $244 million) before requiring FIRB approval.
The extent of the threshold varies in some instances, depending upon the specific nature of the proposed investment and the nationality of the investor. Americans have a higher threshold than other nationalities (currently $1.062 billion for most investments).
Tony Hogarth, who is also a registered migration agent say it is significant that English language is not a requirement for these visas
“This is likely to open up the Australian market to Chinese investors in particular, where language skills may have been a prohibitive factor in the past.”
Further information on the visa can be found at the Department of Immigration, which provides <a href="https://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/business/_pdf/significant-investor.pdf" target="_blank">this summary.</a>
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New ‘golden ticket’ visas to help recovery in prestige Australian residential markets

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Australia has had a boom and gloom economy over the past year. On the one hand our economy still grew – unlike many others around the world –underpinned by a resources boom.  But on the other hand, consumers and businesses were gloomy.
And it was much the same with property. Some areas fared well through the year, but many didn’t.
However, looking back, 2012 will be remembered as the year the property market turned.
It didn't crash like many property pessimists predicted. Sure it stalled in some areas, dropped a little in others and prices fell significantly in a few spots, but in the middle of the year things slowly started to change.
So what gives? 
Our property markets started the year in a tug-of-war caught between falling interest rates on the one hand and market uncertainty on the other.
There were concerns of a meltdown in Europe that could bring the financial system to its knees as well as worries about the US economy. The European economy is still a “basket case” and will remain so for years, however the major risks to the financial system seem to have been averted and over the year the USA economy has improved, albeit slowly.
However we have something new to worry about – the health of our resources boom has come into question. The Chinese economy, the powerhouse behind our resources boom, slowed down during the year, and falling commodity prices and high costs of production have brought concerns about the future of many of Australia’s major mining projects.
What happened in our property market?
We started the year with more properties on the market than there were buyers as many potential home owners and investors stood on the sidelines, too nervous to make a decision waiting for the market to bottom.
Of course it’s not really as simple as that, because there is not one property market.
Well-priced properties in prime locations and with an element of scarcity in the middle price range (say $450,000 and $850,000) have still been selling well, even though clearly there was less interest from both owner-occupiers and investors than before.
However, “B”- and “C”-class properties have not been not selling well. Nor have expensive properties in our more affluent suburbs or holiday properties. Some dropped in value by up to 10%, and some couldn’t be given away.
Well, it wasn’t really as bad as that, unless you were in some remote regional location, but you’d have to give a very steep discount for someone to buy them.
Then things changed:
Eventually a combination of increasing affordability due to higher wages, lower prices and falling interest rates brought buyers back into the market, heralding an upwards trend in values from around the end of May.
This trend, shown in the following graph from RP Data, has also been confirmed by figures from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.apm.com.au/">Australian Property Monitors</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.residex.com.au/">Residex</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://abs.gov.au/">Australian Bureau of Statistics.</a>
Click to enlarge
<a href="/images/stories/2012/12/yardneydec7.gif" rel="shadowbox" title="Click to enlarge"><img src="/images/stories/2012/12/yardneydec7thumb.gif"></a>
How did things finish off?
The latest figures from <a href="https://rpdata.com/">RP Data</a> up till the end of November show that capital city home values remain 5.6% lower than their historic highs of November 15, 2010, but up 2% from their low of late May 2012. 
Click to enlarge
<a rel="shadowbox" href="/images/stories/2012/12/rpdec33.gif" title="Click to enlarge"><img src="/images/stories/2012/12/rpdec33thumb.gif"></a>
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
 
More good news
Another positive sign is that the level of confidence among Australian consumers (as measured by the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index) has been rising since April this year.
Click to enlarge
<a rel="shadowbox" href="/images/stories/2012/11/lawlessnov230.gif" title="Click to enlarge"><img src="/images/stories/2012/11/lawlessnov230thumb.gif"></a>
An easy way to interpret this index is that when it is over 100, optimists outweigh the pessimists and when the index is lower than 100 there are more pessimists than optimists.
In November 2012, the Consumer Sentiment Index was showing a value of 104.3.
Coincidentally <a target="_blank" href="https://comsec.com.au/">Comsec</a> reported housing affordability as the best it’s been in a decade, as shown in the following chart:
<img src="/images/stories/2012/12/yardneydec71.png" width="470">
Consumer confidence is one of the most important leading indicators for the housing market. Put simply, when consumers are lacking in confidence (as they have for the last few years) they tend not to make important and expensive buying decisions such as moving house. And when confidence is high, the number of home sales increases.
And this is already translating into higher levels of finance approvals, which is another important leading indicator, as most home buyers and investors get their finance two or three months before they buy a property.
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
 
Where are we now?
What these figures don’t show is how fragmented the markets really are. 
We know there is not one Australian property market. There are many different markets in different geographic locations, at various price brackets and for different types of property. There is no doubt that home values are still falling in some areas and they are rising in others, but overall things are improving.  
Buyers are back in the market, but at the right price. Stabilising house prices and interest rate cuts are breathing life into the property markets.
Auction clearance rates are up in and vendors are more willing to accept realistic offers.
Vacancy rates are less than 2% in every capital city other than Melbourne, pushing up rentals. This together with better affordability will eventually bring more first-home buyers back into the market.
At the same time overseas investors are snapping up many of our new apartment projects and baby boomers are buying properties in their self-managed superannuation funds.
We’re in the stabilisation phase of our property cycle.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/12/yardneydec72.jpg" width="470">
(c) Metropole Properties
We’ve moved into the stabilisation phase of the property cycle.
You see, the markets don’t move directly from the downturn phase to a property upturn. There is a period of time where buyers return and take up the slack before prices start rising significantly.
And I expect more buyers to return to the market in 2013 year when they realise prices won’t fall any further.
By the way, the stabilisation phase is a great time for smart home buyers and strategic investors to get set for the upturn stage of the cycle.
This may be a good time to buy property – I have always found it a good time to buy when everybody tells you that property is a bad investment. Now is the time to get set for the future.
Michael Yardney is a director of <a href="https://www.metropole.com.au/">Metropole Property Strategists</a>, which creates wealth for its clients through independent, unbiased property advice and advocacy. He is best-selling author, one of Australia's leading experts in wealth creation through property and writes the <a href="https://propertyupdate.com.au/category/property-investment/">Property Investment Update</a> blog. Subscribe today and you'll receive a free video, The Golden Rules of Property Investment.
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myardney-DFoGhGbSJX

Australia's property markets turned in 2012

<html><body>
A Queensland developer is currently offering a “try before you buy” option to entice buyers.
The unusual marketing strategy includes the option for buyers to live in the new place for a small fee while their house is on the market – and there is also the option of moving back out if their place doesn’t sell.
While developers generally steer clear of subject-to-sale contracts, you have to give them extra points for uniqueness.
One thing that has always intrigued me is the relatively small amount of time you generally take before you decide to buy a property.
In a hot market, like the good ole days of 2007, you were lucky if you got one viewing and you had to make a decision what price you were going to offer before someone else beat you to the punch.
Even today, in sought-after inner-city areas especially, properties that are priced correctly don’t tend to last too long on the market. In fact, I recently went to the first open home of a property in the inner city to find out that it was already under contract.
When you consider that buying a home and/or an investment property is likely to be the biggest financial investment you will ever make, in many cases you have probably spent less than an hour actually inside the property before you decide to buy it. As a juxtaposition, I spent more than two hours at the weekend looking for a new frock that ended up costing me about 150 bucks and will probably be in my closet for, at best, one season.
My first home, I knew immediately – it was almost love at first sight – that I wanted to buy it, but that was probably because I had been to countless open homes in the months beforehand and knew exactly what I wanted. My second property, well I’ve never actually seen it, I only have some plans from the developer to go from as well as a vivid, and I hope learned, imagination.
The ability to live in a property before you legally own it, in my opinion, would therefore be a very good idea. You could suss out the neighbours (which realistically could be a positive or a negative), work out just how much closet-space you will have available for the aforementioned collection of season-specific frocks, and daydream about how your six-year-old, but very comfortable couch, will look in the lounge room.
Most of us, however, will never get such an opportunity, so that is why it’s so important to make sure you know exactly what you want when searching for your first, or your next, property. On <a href="https://www.reiq.com/" target="_blank">reiq.com</a>, we have a plethora of information to help buyers as well as nearly 100,000 property listings from REIQ accredited agencies – that’s the second highest numer of online Queensland property listings in the country, don’t you know!
So to help in your search, here are some tips to think about and check when you go to your next open for a property that might in a short space of time become your home:
Inside the property
• Check for signs of rising damp, such as rotting carpet or mould on the walls and ceiling; • Check the walls and ceilings for warps, cracks and any obvious damage; • Test all light switches; and • Test the water pressure in hot and cold taps and check to see that water drains well – slow flowing water may indicate blocked drains.
Outside the property
• Inspect fences for stability and any obvious faults; • Large trees around the house may have large root systems that can cause structural problems; • Check that the land’s water run-off is adequate and drains away from the dwelling; • Water staining on the eaves may indicate damaged or blocked gutters; • Look at the roof for any broken tiles or capping; and • If the property has a pool, check the legality of its fencing via the <a href="https://www.hpw.qld.gov.au/construction/BuildingPlumbing/PoolSafety/Pages/PoolSafetyCouncil.aspx" target="_blank">Pool Safety Council</a>. Pools in a community titles scheme (body corporate) are the responsibility of the body corporate.
Nicola McDougall is executive manager for corporate affairs for the <a href="https://www.reiq.com/" target="_blank">Real Estate Institute of Queensland</a>. This article originally appeared on the<a href="https://reiqblog.com/" target="_self"> REIQ blog</a>.
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nmcdougall-hv3JvhUJmd

'Try before you buy' property scheme trialed in Queensland

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The dust is starting to settle on the Reserve Bank’s decision to cut the cash rate by 25 basis points this week to 3% – the lowest it has been since September 2009.
Most lenders have announced their decisions, with cuts ranging from 20 basis points to the full 25 and with these new rate cuts kicking in between December 10 and December 24.
Unlike previous decisions, the three major banks that still take their cue from the RBA – NAB, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac – have been relatively quick in announcing decisions to pass on 20 basis points to variable rate mortgage holders, all doing so by Wednesday afternoon.
As a result, NAB continues to offer the lowest standard variable of the big four at 6.38%, followed by Commonwealth Bank at 6.40% and Westpac at 6.51%.
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width: 470px;"><tbody>
<tr>
<td width="139" valign="top">
 
</td>
<td width="107" valign="top">
Date new rate kicks in
</td>
<td width="125" valign="top">
Standard variable rate
</td>
<td width="118" valign="top">
Three-year fixed rate
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="139" valign="top">
NAB
</td>
<td width="107" valign="top">
Dec 10
</td>
<td width="125" valign="top">
6.38%
</td>
<td width="118" valign="top">
5.49%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="139" valign="top">
CBA
</td>
<td width="107" valign="top">
Dec 10
</td>
<td width="125" valign="top">
6.40%
</td>
<td width="118" valign="top">
5.54%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="139" valign="top">
Westpac
</td>
<td width="107" valign="top">
Dec 17
</td>
<td width="125" valign="top">
6.51%
</td>
<td width="118" valign="top">
5.59%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="139" valign="top">
ANZ
</td>
<td width="107" valign="top">
??
</td>
<td width="125" valign="top">
6.60%
</td>
<td width="118" valign="top">
5.54%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Source: bank websites
The only difference is the timing of the rate cuts, with NAB and the Commonwealth bank’s new variable rates kicking in on December 10 and Westpac borrowers having to wait an extra week.
Bank-bashers will argue Westpac is cashing in at the expense of borrowers by delaying passing on the rate cuts – the big four banks earn an estimated extra $50 million collectively for every day they don't pass on a rate cut.
ANZ borrowers have a longer wait, with the bank making its independent rate review decision on Friday, December 14 – and most likely also passing on 20 basis points to borrowers, meaning a standard variable rate of 6.4%.
Rate cuts are catalysts for many borrowers to reassess their current mortgage and consider refinancing with a more suitable lender, often offering a lower interest rate – a 25-basis-point reduction on a $300,000 home loan over 25 years equals monthly repayment savings of around $50.
The federal government’s ban on exit fees also makes it cheaper to switch lenders, but borrowers should bear in mind that it only applies to variable mortgages dating from July 1, 2011 and does not apply to fixed rate home loans, which still carry hefty exit fees in most cases in the thousands of dollars.
Nevertheless, around one in five borrowers (according to Mortgage Choice figures) are still choosing to refinance into a fixed-rate loan, with one-year fixed rates currently starting from below 5% and three-year fixed rates just over 5%. There is also the option to split your loan between fixed and variable mortgages.
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
 
Borrowers should bear in mind that while a fixed rate loan can provide some peace of mind if rates start rising, they can prove a major headache if they continue fall, as <a href="/news">happened  around September 2008</a>, when the average three-year fixed rates was 8.75% but then followed a period of steep variable rate cuts, leaving fixed-rate borrowers paying an enormous premium, while variable borrowers enjoyed rates as low as 5.75%.
Mortgage comparison websites such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ratecity.com.au">ratecity.com.au,</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mozo.com.au">mozo.com.au</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.infochoice.com.au">infochoice.com.au</a> are a good way to get a sense of the range of rates being offered in the market place by a variety of lenders, but bear in mind that they may not compare all the advertised rates available and always consider the comparison rate, which is the rate inclusive of fees and charges.
Average standard variable rate vs three-year fixed rates over 2012
<table width="200" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="64">
 
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="64">
SVR
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="16">
 
</td>
<td valign="bottom" colspan="2" width="56">
3yr Fixed
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap width="64">
1-Jan
</td>
<td nowrap width="64">
7.30%
</td>
<td nowrap width="16"></td>
<td colspan="2" width="56">
6.38%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap width="64">
1-Feb
</td>
<td nowrap width="64">
7.30%
</td>
<td nowrap width="16"></td>
<td colspan="2" width="56">
6.38%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap width="64">
1-Mar
</td>
<td nowrap width="64">
7.39%
</td>
<td nowrap width="16"></td>
<td colspan="2" width="56">
6.34%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap width="64">
1-Apr
</td>
<td nowrap width="64">
7.39%
</td>
<td nowrap width="16"></td>
<td colspan="2" width="56">
6.48%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap width="64">
1-May
</td>
<td nowrap width="64">
7.40%
</td>
<td nowrap width="16"></td>
<td colspan="2" width="56">
6.45%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap width="64">
1-Jun
</td>
<td nowrap width="64">
7.04%
</td>
<td nowrap width="16"></td>
<td colspan="2" width="56">
6.14%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap width="64">
1-Jul
</td>
<td nowrap width="64">
6.82%
</td>
<td nowrap width="16"></td>
<td colspan="2" width="56">
6.12%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap width="64">
1-Aug
</td>
<td nowrap width="64">
6.82%
</td>
<td nowrap width="16"></td>
<td colspan="2" width="56">
5.94%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap width="64">
1-Sep-
</td>
<td nowrap width="64">
6.82%
</td>
<td nowrap width="16"></td>
<td colspan="2" width="56">
5.92%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap width="64">
1-Oct
</td>
<td nowrap width="64">
6.82%
</td>
<td nowrap width="16"></td>
<td colspan="2" width="56">
5.73%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap width="64">
1-Nov
</td>
<td nowrap width="64">
6.62%
</td>
<td nowrap width="16"></td>
<td colspan="2" width="56">
5.54%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap width="64">
1-Dec
</td>
<td nowrap width="64">
6.62%
</td>
<td nowrap width="16"></td>
<td colspan="2" width="56">
5.54%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" colspan="4" width="192">
 Source: Ratecity.com.au
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Borrowers should also bear in mind that standard variable rate offerings of the major banks are only headline rates with all the banks offering rate discounts to borrowers who qualify or for their packaged home loan offerings, which can include things like a credit card, an offset account and a transaction account.
Westpac pointed out in its rates announcement that packaged home loan borrowers get a 70-basis-point discount of the standard variable rate mean – a rate of 5.81% from December 17.
Borrowers may also be able to negotiate individual discounts with their bank manager or lender, particularly if they are borrowers of good standing and can present the research showing the cheaper alternatives available in the market place.
Borrowers happy to refinance outside the major banks or their subsidiaries may qualify for variable rate as low as 5.22% offered by loans.com.au, the online offering of non-bank lender FirstMac.
Alternatively UBank, the online home loan and savings arm of NAB, is offering a refinancing variable rate of 5.47%, meaning borrowers can take comfort that they still have the backing of a major bank.
Of course a lower interest rate should not be the soul consideration when refinancing though it can be a good starting point.
Rather refinancing into a loan suited to your financial needs and goals is much more important and speaking to a reputable ASIC-licensed mortgage broker may help in wading through the various fixed and variable offerings in the market.
Credit laws require that mortgage brokers recommend loans that are “not unsuitable”, must provide explanations for their recommendations and disclose all commissions they receive.
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
The major bank subsidiary brands have also passed on 20 basis points leaving their standard variable rates as follows: BankWest (6.39% from December 18); St.George Bank (6.49% from December 17) and Bank of Melbourne (6.40% from December 17).
Bank of Melbourne is also promising to beat the variable home loan rate offerings of the big four banks – including its banking parent Westpac – in an effort to separate out the challenger bank brands from the big four in the minds of consumers.
Online bank ING Direct is the only major banking brand to pass on the full rate cut, offering an eye-catching 5.72% on its most popular Mortgage Simplifier variable rate product, but with the caveat that the new rate only kicks in on December 24 while recent APRA banking figures show the Dutch-based lender slowing down its provision of new mortgage considerably in the past year.
Other lenders to have passed on the full rate cut include Yellow Brick Road – with funding from Macquarie group – offering a rate at 5.25% per annum for the first year and as low as 5.54% over the remaining life of its Empower loan.
Credit unions and building societies also offer low rate home loans and a different customer proposition, given they are mutual lenders and are not driven by a need to maximise shareholder returns.
CUA, one of the biggest mutual lenders cut its variable rates by 20 basis points and is offering a new standard variable rate of 5.85% from December 13, which is 62 basis points lower on average than what the major banks are offering.
Another of the bigger mutual lenders, Heritage Bank (formerly Heritage Building Society) has cut variable home loan interest rates by 20 basis points to offer a standard variable interest rate of 6.14%, effective from December 14.
Property Observer readers can get great refinancing tips from two free webinars we have run this year: <a href="/news">How smart property buyers and investors should approach refinancing in the current environment</a> and, <a href="/news">The Do's and Don’ts of Refinancing Your Existing Home Loan ... and How to Avoid Unnecessary Hurdles</a>.
 
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