HALF of Australian households are worried interest rates will rise but only one in five expect their debt levels to increase in coming months.

Dun & Bradstreet’s latest survey of the consumer credit expectations of 1,205 adults across Australia found 49 per cent anticipated a further rise in interest rates would put a dent in their household finances.

The credit reporting agency completed the survey in June, one month after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lifted the official cash rate to 4.5 per cent, its sixth rise in eight months.

Households with dependent children will face more stress, with 55 per cent of respondents with children saying another rate rise would have a negative impact on their finances, compared with 43 per cent of households without children.

However, more financial stress would translate into more debt for just 20 per cent of households, Dun & Bradstreet said in a statement on Wednesday.

Expectations of spending in the September quarter show almost half of respondents aged under 50 intended to use credit to pay for planned expenses over this period.

One quarter of Australians aged over 50 years planned to do the same, Dun & Bradstreet said.

The RBA’s credit and charge card statistics for May 2010 showed the average credit card balance reached $3,248 in May, an increase of five per cent in 12 months.

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Despite a second consecutive rate reprieve from the RBA this month, economists believe the ongoing strength in the domestic labour market could result in an interest rate hike as early as August.

Australia’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.1 per cent in June, from a downwardly revised 5.1 per cent the previous month, according to an Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) report.

It is the lowest jobless rate as well as the fewest number of unemployed workers, 598,400, since January 2009.

A total of 45,900 jobs were created in June, triple the market forecast of 15,000, statistics revealed.

Part-time positions rose by 27,500 in June, while full-time staff increased 18,400.

Employment has increased in nine of the past 10 months, with 356,300 jobs added to the national economy since June 2009.

JP Morgan economist Helen Kevans said the improvement in the labour market could accelerate wage rises and add to pressures on inflation.

“Further evidence of building wage pressure will add to an already worrisome inflation outlook, with headline inflation likely to remain above the RBA’s 2-3 per cent target range this year and next, and core inflation to be above target by year end,” Ms Kevans said.

“We believe an elevated print on the upcoming second quarter CPI on both the headline and core measures will be enough to trigger another rate move, with our forecast calling for a further 25 basis point hike to the cash rate in August, providing conditions do not deteriorate offshore.”

The RBA’s decision to hold the interest rate steady recently, followed six increases from 3.0 per cent to 4.5 per cent between October 2009 and May 2010.

National Australia Bank senior ?economist David de Garis said the jobs data reflected the strong local economy against a backdrop of weak Atlantic economies and brought into focus the consumer price index (CPI) report on July 28.

For the RBA, this reasserts the importance of the upcoming second quarter CPI,” Mr de Garis said.

If underlying inflation is running at a year to 3.0 per cent or more (rather than the RBA’s 2.75 per cent forecast) then the RBA would have to seriously consider another rate hike to crimp interest s?ensitive? demand to make room for the resources boom that now looks to be coming to the fore.

Commonwealth Bank senior economist Michael Workman said the mining states had usurped Victoria in ?leading the nation’s employment growth.?? ?

The unemployment rate in Queensland fell from 5.5 to 5.3 per cent and Western Australia dropped 0.1 percentage point to 4.0 per cent.

“So most probably you’d argue here that some of the mining states are starting to show more consistent and stronger jobs growth than the east coast states, Mr Workman said.

In WA, 18,000 part-time jobs were added during the month, ABS data showed.

Mr Workman said if inflation and the jobs market remained strong, the RBA could possibly lift interest rates twice by year end.

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New research has revealed that Australians are willing to pay more for residential property, despite the likelihood of interest rates rising.

The realestate.com.au Consumer Insights Survey found that around one in six (16 per cent) (1) property seekers were willing to spend 10% or more above the asking price when looking to buy a home.

The findings come despite the fact that two out of three (66 per cent) (1) property seekers who took part in the survey believed interest rates were likely to rise in the next three months.

Realestate.com.au spokesperson Peter Wright said the survey findings reinforced the boom the property market had experienced recently and peoples’ willingness to achieve the great Australian dream of home ownership.

“The most common perceived reasons for growth include a shortage of properties for sale (54 per cent) that has driven up demand, a resurgence in a growing economy (40 per cent) and the fact that household incomes are rising (11 per cent) (1),” Mr Wright explained.

“While we are now starting to see some stability, the realestate.com.au Consumer Insights Report reinforces the buoyancy the property market experienced in the first half of 2010.

“The report also indicates that consumers expect the property market to remain strong (50 per cent) (1) well into the second half of this year,” he added.

The survey also saw a positive trend in the job market with confidence growing by 11 per cent from April 2009 from 45 per cent to 56 per cent (1) during the May-June 2010 period.

* (1) The realestate.com.au Consumer Insights Report is an online survey conducted on a regular basis to investigate the attitudes of buyers, renters and sellers. The survey ran from 31 May to 3 June 2010 with 4,082 Australian property buyers taking part.

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It’s one of those clichés you’ll often hear in real estate … properties that are priced appropriately are selling. It seems so obvious, really. When you’re making such a big investment surely you’d only do it at the right price? But of course buying houses is emotional and there’s so much more that goes into it than rational thinking about whether it is money well spent. It could be the look and feel, the layout, or the location that sways one buyer to pay a whole lot more than the rest.

If you want to look at how complicated human decision-making is just look at how we pick which political parties will win government. Now that there’s a federal election looming, we’ll all have more than enough opportunity to gawk from the sidelines as votes are won or lost on looks, tone, sound, hair colour, and a little bit of policy, real or perceived.

Nevertheless, when it comes to houses, a lot of real estate agents are saying that buyers are being a lot more careful, and really weighing up where to put their dollars. Less competition from other buyers is providing house hunters with more choices, and they’re taking their time, choosing wisely, and demanding properties are up to scratch.

It’s one of those clichés you’ll often hear in real estate … properties that are priced appropriately are selling. It seems so obvious, really. When you’re making such a big investment surely you’d only do it at the right price? But of course buying houses is emotional and there’s so much more that goes into it than rational thinking about whether it is money well spent. It could be the look and feel, the layout, or the location that sways one buyer to pay a whole lot more than the rest.

If you want to look at how complicated human decision-making is just look at how we pick which political parties will win government. Now that there’s a federal election looming, we’ll all have more than enough opportunity to gawk from the sidelines as votes are won or lost on looks, tone, sound, hair colour, and a little bit of policy, real or perceived.

Nevertheless, when it comes to houses, a lot of real estate agents are saying that buyers are being a lot more careful, and really weighing up where to put their dollars. Less competition from other buyers is providing house hunters with more choices, and they’re taking their time, choosing wisely, and demanding properties are up to scratch.

Agents are saying many vendors are yet to catch up with the swift market cooling of the last couple of months and want higher prices than buyers are prepared to fork out.

I saw a great example of the old price-is-right mantra this week when I spied a sandstone home for sale. Double fronted, it looked like the perfect family pad – except that its immediate neighbour was the car park of a sex shop, and only four doors down, across the road, was a train line. Oh and it had a pretty busy road a few doors the other way.

It could have easily been a house that languished on the market while the vendor held out hoping that the prestige of the neighbourhood that it bordered might rub off. But the vendor was either in a hurry to sell or had a good sense of where the market was at because the home was priced at about $200,000 less than comparable places just a few streets away. On the first open there was a surprising buzz – not quite a swarm – but a healthy hum of activity from house hunters.  And less than a week later, a big SOLD sign was slapped up out the front.

Part of the problem for vendors is the market has been moving so fast lately that it’s hard to keep up. One moment it’s hot and the next it’s not. In pockets there’s still plenty of buying action, for example one Sydney agent says she had 53 people inspect a property in the trendy inner west over the weekend. But in others, real estate agents are ringing around trying to drum up interest.

When you’re selling working out what price you should go for is hard. But just as house hunters are told to find up to a dozen recent comparable sales when they are researching a house’s value, vendors can do that too. The advice for house hunters is to look at the prices places nearby have sold for in the last six months, being careful to compare apples with apples by finding properties that have similar land size, bedroom numbers, layouts and car parking. Sales in the last three months are particularly telling.

If you’re a vendor and you want to find out where the buyers’ thinking is in terms of money, you’d do well to do that research. That way you will find out which direction the market is going in your area, and will be using the same pricing method as your buyers. Of course, if you decide your home has special features and it’s worth holding out for a better price, you might just be lucky – after all spring is just around the corner and the warmer weather brings out the buyers.

Story by Carolyn Boyd – Domain.com.au

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In the latest Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey, there’s little surprise or change in the most unaffordable markets.

Once again, Australia is the most over-priced, and thus least affordable country in the study, with five of the top six cities surveyed also being Australian.

The survey, which covers 272 markets in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, is now in its 6th year, and determines affordability by the “Median Multiple”, which is quite simply the median house price divided by gross annual median household income.

LEAST UNAFFORDABLE
There were 61 severely unaffordable markets this year, down from 64 found in the previous survey. The least affordable markets were concentrated in Australia (22) the United Kingdom (19) and the United States (11).

As for cities, the top six are Vancouver being the least affordable, followed by Sydney, Sunshine Coast, Darwin, Gold Coast and Honolulu.

click the tables to enlarge

MOST AFFORDABLE
There were 103 affordable markets, 98 located in the United States and 5 located in Canada.

6th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey - read here

The results of this latest edition are very much in line with a recent and broader index compiled by The Economist which showed Australia to be in excess of 50 times over-priced/valued.

Story from http://marquetteturner.com/

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Don’t let the slow real estate market keep you from having the home of your dreams. You don’t have to move, you just need to improve. And this is the perfect time to do so.
Never before have all the stars been so perfectly aligned to facilitate the remodelling needed to give you your perfect palace. Materials costs have been lowered to increase sales, building contractors have reduced their fees to attract more clients, and interest rates are the lowest they have ever been. If you’ve ever wanted to tackle a home improvement task, this is the time to do so.
Here are five good places to start:

1. Kitchen Remodel - If your kitchen is tired and run down, this is a great time to remodel it. Cabinet manufacturers are pricing more competitively, granite prices have fallen, and contractors are itching to work. The contractors that were busy building homes during the housing boom are now fighting each other to get the kitchen remodelling jobs, and the homeowner is the one who wins. Since it is the kitchen that is said to sell the home, the improvements you make now will benefit you greatly when the market turns around and you put your home on the market.

2. Bathroom Remodel — No longer just a place to shower and shave, bathrooms have been elevated to spa status. If your bathroom doesn’t measure up, this is a fantastic time to bring it up to date. Popular improvements this year include heated flooring, natural materials such as stone and wood, multiple shower heads with massaging jets, higher counters with vessel sinks, and soft colours with mood lighting for that ultimate spa experience.

3. Bedroom Addition — There is always great value in adding another bedroom to your home. Whether you create an ultimate master retreat, a welcoming guest room, or a home office, the extra room will always increase your profits when you go to sell. The long line of craftsmen needed to implement a room addition are all willing to bargain now to get your job. From the architect to the contractor, to the carpet salesman, they are all offering the best deals in years.

4. Decks — Outdoor entertaining is a huge trend with homeowners, and adding a deck is a great way to welcome your friends to the great outdoors. From a simple square deck to a multi-level masterpiece featuring an outdoor kitchen, materials and labour costs have come down to make this an ideal time to take on that outdoor living project.

Story by Barbara Green – http://www.housingwatch.com
Barbara Green is The Design Diva and owner of Sensibly Chic Interior Design. She creates one of a kind interiors that reflect your taste, lifestyle and budget.

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Australian banks’ preference for writing home loans rather than lending to business may pose a risk to the banking system and the overall economy, according to a leading banker.

Joseph Healy, business banking head of National Australia Bank, said the bias of banks toward retail mortgage lending could hobble the economy’s long-term growth by skimping on loans to small businesses. The money flowing into housing may create other distortions such as fuelling excessive investment, he said.

”With the apparent bias towards to the household sector, we shouldn’t discard the possibility of asset bubbles being created there,” Mr Healy said.

”We’re not saying we believe there is an asset bubble but shouldn’t close our minds to the possibility of that happening.”

Since the emergence of the global financial crisis, small businesses have complained that they have borne the brunt of tighter lending requirements, with interest rates on their loans falling less than other borrowers. In addition, competition among banks has been reduced as several smaller lenders either exited the market or where swallowed up by bigger rivals.

Mr Healy said banks’ tilt towards home loans meant fewer loans are available for business, effectively crimping the economy’s growth engine.

”This is ultimately bad for growth, bad for competition, bad for jobs, bad for business and in the end bad for Australia,” he said.

In 2000, every $1000 of home lending was matched by roughly the same amount for business. That ratio has since shifted so that today, for every $1000 of home lending, only about $600 is available for business, according to NAB research.

Home lending comprised 43 per cent of the lending of the big four banks – Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, NAB and ANZ – in 2000, but rose to 57 per cent this year. In the same time, business lending has dropped from 46 per cent to 35 per cent, according to NAB’s figures.

”The lack of access of finance has been a problem but also the cost of finance,” said Peter Strong executive director of Council of Small Business of Australia.

Banks are currently charging as much as 2 percentage points more than the standard mortgage rate to many small businesses, Mr Strong said.

Among the big four banks, NAB has the largest small-to-medium business loan book and the smallest residential mortgage book.

Most-overvalued market

In contrast to the trends in most rich nations, Australia’s house prices have continued to rise even during the global economic slowdown. Analysts have cited loan availability but also a relatively strong economy and a shortage of affordable stock for the divergence.

Some of that price fizz is coming off, though, with home price growth moderating in the past few months. Even so, the recent prices gains have pushed the national city median home price to $468,000, according to RP Data-Rismark.

The Economist magazine last week said a ”fair value” analysis of global property shows Australian property the most overvalued of any of the 20 countries the publication tracks, based on a comparison of the current ratio of rents to prices to a long-term average.

Mr Healy’s comments come as analysts speculate that Australia’s major banks may be squeezed in coming months by rising off-shore funding costs, with the banks’ exposure to the residential mortgage market drawing greater scrutiny on global markets.

Mr Healy delivered a speech on business lending to the American Chamber of Commerce in Sydney this afternoon.

Professor of Economics & Finance at the University of Western Sydney Steve Keen lauded Mr Healy’s comments.

”I’m delighted to see somebody in the banking sector come out and say this because it’s really about speculation being funded by the banks rather than investment.”

”To me the essential thing banks should be doing is providing working capital to firms.”

Story by Chris Zappone – czappone@fairfax.com.au

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A friend is thinking of selling her house. It’s an upmarket place in a swish spot. Would it be appropriate, she asked me, for her to be there during the open homes, keeping the agent company? Maybe serving wine and cheese to tempt would-be home buyers (it’s a nice home, and her buyers are likely to enjoy that kind of thing), and to answer any questions about the property.

It’s generally something not done in Australia but it’s not uncommon on TV lifestyle shows to see the vendors, having spruced up their place, springing forward to open the door for house hunters, and then guiding them around the property while the agent lurks in the background.

Being on site during open houses could go either way. One of the things that makes buyers fall in love with homes is that they can imagine themselves living there, and they might find that hard to do with the owner on hand. Many also like the freedom to open and shut drawers, check if the toilet flushes properly and jump up and down on the floorboards, to see if everything is in working order.

You would have to be thick-skinned when showing your own house because buyers don’t generally hold back in letting their thoughts be known about the state of a property, the choice of paint colours or even the furniture. Sometimes it’s just the house hunter talking through what they might change to make it their own, but for sellers who’ve worked hard on getting the place to be just as they want it, that might not sound so nice. Then again you’re selling and it won’t be yours soon anyway, so you’d just have to grin and bear it, really.

On the plus side, you would get to hear first hand what it is that buyers don’t like about your place, and you might have the opportunity to make a few changes before future open homes.

As a would-be buyer I think I’d be 50-50 about whether I wanted an owner present while I was snooping through their place. Not that I’m rifling through their drawers (honestly) but it’s hard to meaningfully "inspect" something under pressure. It would be great to be able to ask the seller about the ins and outs of the house – however, I would not want them looking over my shoulder every step of the way. I’d be comfortable if they were there, but perhaps confined to the front room or the kitchen, on hand if I had any queries.

Real estate agents might not be so keen to have the owner hanging about either, or would want to set some ground rules about price quoting and impromptu negotiations.

Then there’s the question of whether having an owner on hand would add to the value of the property, or potentially detract from it. And sometimes that might come down to mood and manner because let’s face it, not all of us are people-people, if you know what I mean.

Carolyn Boyd is a property journalist and keen follower of Australia’s housing market.

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Buyers are prepared to pay more for a Melrose Place-type environment.

When good neighbours become good friends, it can not only make apartment buildings much more enjoyable places to live but also boost the price of the property.

One of the key things professional strata record searchers look at in apartment blocks or complexes when they’re examining buildings on behalf of potential purchasers is how friendly, harmonious and happy the residents are.

"That’s definitely something that’s included in our strata reports," says the director of I&D Strata Searching, Matt Trachtenberg-Ray.

"What a lot of people fail to understand when they move into strata buildings is that they are moving into a community and the harmony of a building is just as important as how much they have to spend on fixing the concrete."

For as well as such harmony making a building a far more pleasant place to live, with neighbours chatting in lifts rather than enduring stony silences and greeting each other on common property, it also means it’s much more likely that disputes will be settled quickly and amicably rather than through expensive legal action.

"It’s the tone of a building that’s important," says the president of the Institute of Strata Title Management, David Ferguson. "A good building that’s supportive of the social fabric can be like having an extended family and, in turn, not to have a friendly building can be disastrous.

"It’s incumbent on people, and especially office-bearers, to make people welcome and run the building in a positive way. Where a building is known for a good living environment, there’s more demand for apartments and inevitably the competition will force prices up."

That might mean buildings that host book clubs, wine-tasting evenings, playgroups, social occasions, sporting ventures and even – such as in the case of the city’s Highgate building – group holidays in far-flung destinations, such as Yemen.

At the vast Jacksons Landing in Pyrmont, for example, there are Friday drinks, BYO dinners, quarterly meals in local restaurants, tennis, a singing group, dog-owner get-togethers, newsletters and an annual Christmas charity fund-raiser concert.

"A lot of people now know each other as a result of them and it really enhances the building," says Regina Knowles, who organises many of the events. "It creates a very friendly atmosphere, which people love."

Smaller buildings can be just as welcoming. In JoAnn Holloway’s 12-unit complex in Bexley, there’s an affable ambience. In-house dinner parties for residents are a regular occurrence and everyone pitches in if there’s a problem.

"It makes it a very happy place to live," Holloway says. "Occupants are always happy to help each other with chores, like moving furniture, gardening and even rescuing washing from the clothes line if it rains.

One elderly resident often passes on home-made biscuits and enjoys having a chat, while one time, when I was sick, a neighbour immediately offered to help and dropped off a meal. It’s wonderful."

It all comes down to attitude, says the vice-president of the apartment owners’ peak group, the Owners Corporation Network, Brian Wood. If people say hello when they pass each other and engage rather than ignoring each other, it oils the wheels of a building.

"A good atmosphere in a building is completely fundamental," he says. "If you have a good relationship with other owners, then you’ll get disputes or problems being resolved sensibly and practicably rather than escalating stupidly."

Indeed, friendliness is the very reason that Robert Dodds recently decided to buy into the Motto building in Erskineville. He was happy to buy a one-bedroom apartment for $510,000 – $20,000 over the reserve – because he has friends already in the building who say it’s a very sociable place to live.

"During inspections I got the feeling that it’s a bit like Melrose Place," says Dodds, in reference to the American TV show about the comings and goings of people in an apartment building.

"I liked this apartment’s big balcony, which will be great for entertaining, but the residents seem to be young professionals who are all pretty outgoing and friendly. It looks like a great place to buy into."

Midday at the oceana

On a sunny weekend, there can be any number of residents socialising over a glass or two down by the barbecue, cabana and pool at Elizabeth Bay’s 65-unit apartment building Oceana.

"It’s just a very friendly building, with great amenities, which we all share with goodwill during warmer days," says Ross Appleton, who’s lived there for nearly four years.

"We’re a diverse group of demographics and age groups but we do interact well and socialise with each other."

There are many formal, organised activities but, every Christmas, everyone gets together over drink and food. And after each AGM – instead of, as in some buildings, trying to tear each other’s throats out over disputes – everyone socialises, with wine, beer and nibbles laid on.

In addition, if there are any major issues happening, such as the proposal to extend the nearby Elizabeth Bay marina, nearly every resident is happy to sign a petition. "If there are any disputes in the building, the sociable, friendly atmosphere enables us to work out a way around it," Appleton says.

Oceana chairman Paul Johnson says it was a deliberate strategy to create a cordial feeling throughout the building. "We wanted to help people communicate more and it’s often much easier to raise issues when you’re talking over a beer," Johnson says. "It works very well."

Ice-breaker at horizon

Having a concierge in an apartment building often provides a pivotal point for residents to get to know each other, says lawyer Richard Gration. At his building, Darlinghurst’s Horizon, people will often stand and chat to the concierge and others will join in, helping to create a friendly atmosphere for everyone.

"The concierge is a significant factor in pulling people together," Gration says. "It’s almost an ice-breaker that gives people the ability to make contact with one another.

"We also have regular organised social functions for residents, especially designed to facilitate neighbours meeting each other. They are always very well attended, with around 80 to 100 people."

One resident paid caterers out of his own pocket for cocktail food while, for Horizon’s 10th birthday, a penthouse owner opened up his $15 million apartment for a function, which was attended by about 150 residents. There are also discussions happening about a tennis day on the complex’s court.

"A friendly atmosphere also means that the number of neighbour disputes tends to be a lot lower than that you’d expect from a building with 260 apartments," Gration says. "People feel they can talk to one another like adults rather than rushing off to the courts or to the CTTT."

Playgroup the key at Pacific Place

Enterprising apartment residents at one north shore complex have set up a playgroup to enable parents and toddlers to get together in a novel experiment to ensure a friendly atmosphere.

"This is great," says mum Linda Prankerd, watching her daughter Alexandra, 1, play with her little friends from neighbouring apartments at Chatswood’s Pacific Place.

"I’ve lived in quite a few complexes but people here have worked really hard to make this one extremely friendly."

The chairman of the 221-unit Epica building in the complex, Gerry Chia, organises an annual social that has now expanded beyond his building to include all four of the strata’s on the site. There’s also been a tai chi group at the complex, a card club, quilting club and all manner of social activities.

In an effort to increase the range — and allow the playgroup to meet even in wet weather — all the residents are now chipping in to pay for a community centre to be built at the complex.

"I think many people expect apartment buildings to be soulless places and that they’ll be lonely in high-rise," Chia says. "But that’s certainly not the case here. Of course, not everyone wants to be social but we’re ensuring it’s friendly for everyone."

Story by Susan Wellings –www.domain.com.au

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Standard variable loan popularity hits 18-month high

Despite the cost difference between fixed and variable interest rates dropping, June saw a higher percentage of Australians turning their backs on locking in their home loan rate.

According to the latest loan approval data from Mortgage Choice, Australia?s largest independently-owned mortgage broker, only 2.6% of new borrowers chose a fixed interest rate for their home loan. This compared to 3.3% in May and 1.8% in April.

“Many people in the industry were expecting a rise in fixed rate demand last month but that hasn’t happened with our customers. Instead we’ve seen this product’s popularity reduce by one fifth,” said Mortgage Choice senior corporate affairs manager, Kristy Sheppard.

“Further, our June data shows fixed rate loans have represented less than 5% of all new approvals for the past 10 months and less than 10% of approvals for two years now.

“It was interesting to note the proportion of fixed loans to new borrowers dropped in all states apart from Western Australia, which was a complete reversal of last month’s trend.

“So, although we’ve seen a swift rise in rates from October through to March and the cost of fixing a loan continues to decrease, demand for variable interest rates remains at near-record highs. Perhaps the price tag is still too high when potential borrowers weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of fixed versus variable.

“Or perhaps whispers of a much steadier cash rate are seeping through and wielding influence over borrowers? decision processes.”

Standard variable loan demand reached 50.1% of June loan approvals, which was an increase on 47.8% in the month prior and the highest level reached since October 2008.

One of the key reasons for the popularity of standard over basic variable loans is the plethora of quality professional packages’ on offer with these products, which attract customers with benefits such as rate discounts, ‘Gold’ credit cards and other special features.

Other key home loan choice trends for the first month of winter were:

• Basic variable: fell to 41.9% from 43.5%.
• Line of credit (often popular with investors): fell to 5.3% of approvals from 5.4%.
• Bridging (for those selling property while purchasing another): remained well below 1%.

Note: Mortgage Choice’s annual loan approvals are approximately 40,000 nationally and therefore provide a clear insight into the product preferences of housing loan borrowers generally.

Story from www.australianhousehunters.com.au

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