I am excited to be writing another column as principal sponsor of the Otago Property Investors Association. I have enjoyed my involvement in the community so far and look forward to meeting more of you in the coming months. I had a great time at the recent bus tour, along with our local representative Graeme Magorian.
As the year progresses, our focus remains the same – helping our valued clients achieve their property goals. We continue to be held in high regard within our industry and that is something I am very proud of. At the 2017 New Zealand Financial Services Group awards I was awarded the Southern Region Home Loan Adviser of the Year, with another member of our team, Brenda Murney, being awarded 2nd place. Tony Mounce Mortgages & Insurance was also awarded the Home Loan Business of the Year (Southern Region) and Overall Business of the Year (Southern Region). We are always seeing changes within the industry and the overall property environment, which means it is valuable to regularly review your portfolio and how it is working for you.
We have seen a number of changes recently and it’s valuable to consider each of these. The market has slowed, or normalised, nationwide. We are seeing the days per sale increasing and the average sale price slightly decreasing. We are coming closer to an equilibrium and I believe the market is slightly in favour of the buyer at the moment.
With sales numbers down, the client acquisition space is heating up. The refinancing market is hot – this is the focus for the banks at the moment, to bring revenue in. To grow, they are becoming more open to being flexible with the cash bonuses, or grants. It is common for cash bonuses to represent a small portion of the loan and we are seeing much more flexibility from the banks of late. When reviewing loan-related news, interest-only is becoming harder to secure. Advertised rates in the one-year term are falling to as low as 4.3% and we recently saw a rate of 4.09% secured. Now is a great time to review your position and investment portfolio and ensure it is working for you.
Tony Mounce Mortgages & Insurance is here to help you in achieving your property investment goals. Our nationwide team is highly experienced in highly experienced in Standard Housing, Investment Housing and Commercial Mortgages. In addition to this, our insurance specialist Craig Collins works exclusively with our clients to ensure their assets and investments are protected in the future. We are proud to be one of the largest adviser firms in the South Island. This means we have access to a wide range of products to offer our clients, both mortgage and insurance related.
We would love to chat about how we can help you achieve your property investment goals and secure your future. Give Tony Mounce Mortgages & Insurance a call on 0800 MOUNCE.