Australia's Home Equity Release Blog

​The number of Australian homeowners over the age of 65 still carrying mortgage debt has trebled since 2002, raising concerns the nation's retirement savings could be absorbed into the housing boom. In 2002 only 4 per cent of homeowners aged over 65 carried mortgage debt, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show. By 2015, the latest figure available, that had grown to 12 per cent. Rachel Ong, professor of economics at Curtin University, said it was a "worrying trend" and set to continue because the percentage of homeowners in their 50s and early 60s with mortgage debt had also increased. The number of 55-64 year-old homeowners with mortgage debt had more than doubled, from 23 pe

CBA and subsidiary Bankwest are axing reverse mortgages, the last of the major lenders to pull out of the $3.1 billion sector amid warnings of tougher regulation and rising costs. The banks will withdraw the product for new borrowers from the beginning of next year. It will continue lending for existing borrowers. A CBA spokesman said the decision to withdraw "Equity Unlock for Seniors" was part of an ongoing streamlining of its product portfolio intended to simplify lending, remove duplication and lower costs. Westpac Group, the nation's second largest lender, and Macquarie Bank, withdrew from the market late last year. A reverse mortgage borrower can take the funds from the equity in their

American build-to-rent giant Sentinel Real Estate Corporation has declared Sydney too expensive to undertake projects and has instead turned its focus to Melbourne, after securing a $200 million commitment from a European pension fund to grow its fledgling Australian business. Sentinel, which has most of its $10 billion real estate portfolio in build-to-rent properties – or "multifamily'' assets as they are known overseas – is pioneering one of the first such projects in Subiaco, Perth, with the first $75 million stage comprising 175 apartments due to take its first tenants in April next year. The New York-based, privately-owned company has owned and managed more than146,000 build-to-rent un

When it comes to the work of real estate agents, it seems like the pro group and the against group can never agree on the need of them. The first group thinks they are a necessity and the second one think it's an absolute waste of time and money. So, do you really need real estate agents? Here's a short list of pros and cons about some of the most arguable topics. Are agents wasting or gaining money? People who are about to sell their property tend to make as much profit as possible. No one thinks about selling their house for the lowest possible price. When you hire an agent, you agree on a fixed percentage, usually 3%, from the sale you make. Meaning, if you sell the house for $100.000, th

Have you heard about the sale and stay deal? Yes? No? Well either way, here's a little lecture about the good and the bad sides of the sale and stay deal. Let's see what sale and stay - benefits and downsides is about. The sale and stay deal is basically a deal by which you sell a property, a house, an apartment or something similar in which you live. When you find a buyer for the place, you sign a deal by which you both agree that the buyer is now the new owner of the place, but you still get you live inside as a tenant. So, let's begin with the sale and stay - benefits and downsides. First, let's talk about the bad side of the deal. Everyone knows that rich people invest their wealth in re

For all those that know well what a reverse mortgage is but isn't sure if it something they really need, here's an article in which we will explain what they can do with the money and how to spend them best. First, we would like to explain that there are two different options when it comes to using the benefits of the reverse mortgage plan. The first option is to get the whole amount of money at once. When the person asking for the loan needs cash right away because of some plan, the bank can give them the money in full. The other option is to use the money from the loan every month as a bonus to the pension money the senior citizen receives. Let's talk first about the second option. Let's s

In Australia, there are many ways to get a large amount of money fast, but they involve banks and loans. A lot of people simply don't like banks and some of them are frequently asking themselves if they should find another way to get a lump sum that will help them solve their problems. Among other things, one of the most popular ways to get a lot of money without involving the banks is the sell and stay deal. But is this deal good? Should you sell and stay? Should you sell and stay is a great question because if you don't know the benefits of this deal and you need money, you're missing a lot. The sell and stay deal is a standard sell of a property agreement with a couple of points that make

Even though the common idea about real estate agents is that they will only charge you for something that you can do by yourself, this is not really true. Real estate agents in Australia is proven to make a profit to almost everyone that trusted them with selling a property of any kind. You might ask yourself is this true? It seems not logical giving someone money to do something you can do. Well, statistics show that's exactly what you should do if you want to make profit. Here's why. Real estate agents in Australia know the market and the customers. They are trained to sell the property and they know how to make the property look more attractive. You might think that no can show your own h