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Michael Daniels

Mortgage Broker in Central Coast & Lake Macquarie

If you're looking for a trusted mortgage broker on the Central Coast, look no further than Mortgage Choice Central Coast. Our team of experienced brokers is here to help you navigate the complex world of home loans and find the right solution for your needs.

At Mortgage Choice Central Coast, we know that every borrower is different, which is why we take a personalized approach to every loan we work on. We'll take the time to understand your unique needs and goals and work with you to find a loan that meets your specific requirements.

With access to a wide range of lenders and loan programs, we can help you find the best rates and terms for your situation. Whether you're a first-time homebuyer or a seasoned investor, we have the expertise to help you achieve your financial goals.

Our team is committed to providing exceptional customer service and support throughout the entire loan process. We'll keep you informed every step of the way and ensure that you have all the information you need to make informed decisions.

So, if you need a mortgage broker on the Central Coast, look no further than Mortgage Choice Central Coast. Contact us today to schedule a consultation, and let us help you find the right loan solution for your needs.

Market Updates

21/08/2024

One of the best sets of data for monitoring the health of a property market, especially on the Central Coast, is the Rental Vacancy Rate. Investors use this information to gauge the current supply and demand position and predict the future direction of rental yields. This terrific chart shows the history of the Central Coast Vacancy rate since 2005. 
 
The current rental property vacancy rate is around 1%, based on an estimated 37,500 rental properties. A low vacancy rate indicates that rents are more likely to increase as demand appears to exceed supply. 
 
As you can see, the current Central Coast vacancy rate is historically low. Is this scarcity driving up our rents? I will answer that question with more data tomorrow, but I can confirm that my current experience as a mortgage broker on the Central Coast is that we are seeing an increase in renters seeking to buy their own homes and investors looking to purchase cash-flow-positive properties. Both of these trends indicate that rents are on the rise.
 
Please give me a call on 0414255530 if you would like to talk through your property plans.
 

 

Central Coast Houses remain in the "Start of Recovery" phase (May 2024)

According to the Herron Todd White valuation firm's monthly property clock report, the Central Coast house markets are in the "Start of Recovery" phase.

As we have been pointing out for a few months now, the Central Coast residential housing markets have benefited from the lack of affordability in the Sydney Market. Interestingly, HTW has placed Sydney in the "Rising Market" category, so we can probably expect the overflow demand to continue.

Should you need advice from an experienced Central Coast Mortgage Broker, please call Mortgage Choice Erina.

 

Does the Central Coast property market follow Sydney? (May 2024)

These charts give us some valuable information about the performance of Central Coast house prices.

1. Between March 2020 and February 2024, house prices rose by 47%, and unit prices rose by 34.3%.
2. Central Coast units outperformed all fifteen Sydney markets but came tenth out of thirteen regional markets.
3. Central Coast house prices rose, placing them third out of fifteen Sydney markets, but only outperformed one of the thirteen regional markets.

Central Coast houses and units have behaved more like regional NSW markets. COVID-19 societal lockdowns impacted these results via a Sydney exodus. The post-2022 results will be interesting to observe.

Mortgage Choice Erina will continue to provide data to help you understand our market and its future.

 

The Central Coast median house price breaches $1,000,000 again (April 2024)

The Central Coast median house price has once again crossed the $1M threshold, continuing the seven-month upward trend.
 
The new median is $1,004,713, a $5,813 jump from March.
 
This Mortgage Choice Erina chart is updated monthly. Please follow us on social media to receive updates.
 
 

Property listings trending higher on the Central Coast (May 2024)

Although the number of residential property listings on the Central Coast is trending higher, the most recent month saw a dip, and we have not returned to pre-COVID levels.

Whilst the supply of property available for purchase remains relatively constrained, prices will continue to rise in a high-demand market. We will be keen to monitor this chart in the coming months to see if supply continues to reduce.

Please give us a call at Mortgage Choice Erina if you would like to discuss your home loan or investment plans.

 

"Start of Recovery" for Central Coast Houses (March 2024)

The March Herron Todd White "month in review" report is out and the #CentralCoast unit market remains in the "Starting to Recover" stage of the property clock. This is arguably a good time in the cycle to invest. https://htw.com.au/month-in-review/
 
 

"Start of Recovery" for Central Coast Houses (March 2024)

The March Herron Todd White "month in review" report is out, and the #CentralCoast HOUSE market remains in the "Starting to Recover" stage of the property clock. This is arguably a good time in the cycle to invest.
 
Interestingly, the unit and house segments of the Central Coast residential property market are in the same cycle stage. https://htw.com.au/month-in-review/
 

 

Central Coast Houses out-performing Units (March 2024)

Mortgage Choice Erina is part of the REA Group (realestate.com.au), so we can access their PropTrack data.

The above chart (Feb 2024) compares the Central Coast market to the various Sydney and NSW markets.

As you can see, our units and houses have underperformed in most Sydney markets but overperformed in almost all NSW regional markets.

This chart also confirms our data showing that house prices outperform unit prices on the Central Coast. Potentially, the large increase in new unit supply compared to lower land release numbers makes units more affordable.

If you would like to talk to us about your property plans, please give us a call to discuss your options.
 

 

Units vs Houses on the Central Coast (March 2024)

This chart shows that house asking prices are trending higher than unit asking prices.

Units have remained steady for the last two years. House asking prices are now climbing higher after a brief fall.

The 'All Units' data shows the median asking price was $452,842 in March 2020. Four years later, it is $653,752, a 44.80% growth in four years.

The 'All Houses' data shows the median asking price was $774,072 in March 2020. Four years later, it is $1,309,548, a 69.17% growth in four years.

This chart shows that the proportion gap between unit and house prices was steady between 2009 and 2016. Unit prices were roughly 65% of house prices. As of March 2024, unit prices are now 49% of house prices.

We at Mortgage Choice Erina can only speculate why this has happened, but the supply of new houses has been limited, and the supply of units is accelerating. There are also some indicators that Sydney house seekers are being priced out of their market and looking for more affordably pastures on the hashtag#CentralCoast.

Please call us if you would like to discuss your property-buying plans. The property buying process starts with understanding how much you can borrow.

 

Asking Rents continue to rise on the Central Coast (March 2024)

This chart continues our focus on housing affordability. The #CentralCoast is experiencing a rapid rise in asking rents due to a flow of Sydney tenants seeking more affordable housing.
 
Our prior chart showed rental vacancy rates are approaching record lows during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
 
This chart shows the impact of increasing tenant demand and limited rental dwelling supply. Rents are rising rapidly.
 
If you would like to discuss your housing or investment options, please call us at Mortgage Choice Erina.
 
 

Units come into the Central Coast Picture

The extraordinary increase in #CentralCoast house prices over the last five years has shifted our attention to more affordable options. And I'm not talking about Queensland.

Units and townhouses are now in focus, particularly for first-time home buyers, investors (looking for cash-flow-positive options) and downsizers.

First-home buyers in Sydney have always seen units as the obvious entry point into the market. This is now a more common reality for Central Coast first-home buyers.

One of Australia's biggest residential valuation firms, Herron Todd White, produces a monthly infographic that utilises their valuers to estimate the stage of the local property cycle.

The Central Coast unit market moved from the "bottom of the market" to the "start of recovery" phase.

If you would like to discuss purchasing a unit or townhouse, please call me about establishing a pre-approval.

 

 

Big Bank RBA Cash Rate Forecasts (March 2024)

The big bank research teams occasionally provide us with their RBA cash rate forecasts. We have listed their most recent opinions below:
 
CBA (08/03/24): "We don't anticipate any further increases to the cash rate in this cycle". "Our central scenario sees the RBA commencing an easing cycle in September 2024".
 
WESTPAC (11/03/24) - The current forecast is a 0.50% reduction by the end of 2024.
 
NAB (06/03/24): "Today’s result does not have large implications for the RBA, and NAB continues to see it on hold until November."
 
Please note that these are only predictions and are subject to regular changes.
 
The ASX futures implied yield curve also predicts a gradual reduction in the RBA's cash rate (see the 11/03/24 chart below).
 
Please feel free to give us a call or send us an email if you would like to review your mortgage or your property plans.
 
 

Compare your Interest Rate (February 2024)

Our Mortgage Choice Erina interest rate chart has been updated for February 2024.

We recommend you compare your mortgage interest rate to this chart and call us if your rate looks too high. 

Central Coast Rental Vacancy Rates (April 2023)
This chart showing the Central Coast residential investment property vacancy rate is very interesting.
 
Rental Vacancy rates are a result that we often quote to our customers here at Mortgage Choice Erina. This statistic gives us a window into supply and demand volumes that are so important to property investors.
 
As you can see from this chart, the beginning of Covid in early 2020 saw the Central Coast rental stock fill up. Less than 1% of our rental properties were vacant. A similar sudden scarcity of rental properties occurred in 2009, which may have been the result of the GFC at that time.
 
Now that Covid is well behind us, rental vacancy levels have risen quite sharply, we suspect that some of the Sydney demand is heading south.
 
If you would like to discuss the implications of these and other market changes to your plans, please give us a call.
 
 

Central Coast Rental Vacancy Rates (April 2023)

This chart showing the Central Coast residential investment property vacancy rate is very interesting.
 
Rental Vacancy rates are a result that we often quote to our customers here at Mortgage Choice Erina. This statistic gives us a window into supply and demand volumes that are so important to property investors.
 
As you can see from this chart, the beginning of Covid in early 2020 saw the Central Coast rental stock fill up. Less than 1% of our rental properties were vacant. A similar sudden scarcity of rental properties occurred in 2009, which may have been the result of the GFC at that time.
 
Now that Covid is well behind us, rental vacancy levels have risen quite sharply, we suspect that some of the Sydney demand is heading south.
 
If you would like to discuss the implications of these and other market changes to your plans, please give us a call.
 
 

Average Big 4 Bank interest rate chart (April 2023)

Our "Mortgage Choice Erina" monthly average interest rate chart has been updated for April 2023.

As you can see, the average 3-year fixed rate and the average 5-year fixed rate have stabilised and even slightly reduced.

The massive increase in variable interest rates by the Reserve Bank of Australia is hopefully coming to an end very soon.

Most of the major bank economists are predicting one or two more 0.25% increases, however, the ASX futures market is predicting that we may have peaked.

Our Central Coast economy would benefit enormously if people ensure they are not paying too much to the banks. The money being wasted on high-interest rates could be better spent in our local economy.

If you would like to take a look at your interest rates please contact us for a review.

 

The Herron Todd White Property Clock (March 2023)

The March Property Clock from Herron Todd White, the national valuation firm, shows very little change compared to the February results. The only change was Coffs Harbour moving from "Starting to Decline" to "Declining Market". The Central Coast house market is said to be in the "Starting to Decline" section. 
 
 

 

Central Coast Gross Rental Yields (March 2023)

One of the most important ratios for a Central Coast property investor to consider is the GROSS RENTAL YIELD.

This is simply the annual rent of a property expressed as a percentage of the property value. We are used to using this ratio for investments like Term Deposits. We express the annual cash income as a percentage of the cash deposit.

This chart is very important for Central Coast investors.

Some interesting Mortgage Choice Erina observations:

1. The highest Gross Rental Yield for 2-bedroom units was 5.7% in December 2019 (right before Covid).

2. The current 2-bedroom unit Gross annual rental yield is currently 4.20%.

3. The highest Gross annual rental yield for all houses was 4.7% back in January 2012.

4. The current gross annual rental yield for all Central Coast houses is only 3%.

Interestingly, whilst gross rents rose significantly since the start of Covid, property prices rose faster, this saw the gross annual rental yield slightly decline for both units and houses.

The current trend appears to show a gradual recovery of gross annual rental yields, despite rent amounts remaining stable.

Please give us a call if you would like to talk about your investment options.

As they say, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. 

 

Central Coast Median House Price (December 2022)

The worm is turning.

As you can see from the chart below. Our Mortgage Choice Erina median house price chart for the Central Coast of NSW is showing a reduction.

The median house price has reduced from the peak of $1,052,654 (August 2023) to $1,029,958 (December 2023). It would be hard to imagine these house prices not reducing further over the coming months as interest rates continue to rise, reducing borrowers' access to funding.

Although house prices are starting to reduce, they are still at historically high levels. Now is the time to use these higher valuations in your favour.

If your debt is relatively low compared to these higher prices, we might be able to use this equity position to negotiate a better interest rate. Please send us an email if you would like us to investigate this option.

Central Coast House Prices - May 2023

Our Central Coast house price results are out for May 2023.

Whilst the median house price dropped from $955,202 to $951,420, the rate of decline has slowed this month. The drop from March to April was almost $20,000.

This median house price level was last seen back in December 2021. Amazingly, only 18 months prior to this date, the median house price was $300,000 lower. To put this into mortgage perspective, an additional $300,000 in borrowings would have a weekly repayment of $415, based on a 6% interest rate over a 30-year loan term.

The ranked table below shows 20 Central Coast suburbs with the highest number of houses. We have shown you the median house prices from January to May. As you can see, the trend is heading down for every suburb on this list. Although, some have fallen quite a lot more than others.

As always, we encourage you to call or email us if you have any questions at all.

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