New home loans by CUA rose by 41% to $990 million in the first half of 2012.

CUA chief executive officer Chris Whitehead believes that the company will continue to grow its market share with new home loans and home loan growth.

Whitehead also said the company is focused on attaining $10 billion of assets under management by the end of the financial year for 2013.

CUA’s growth for 2012 was 9% compared with the big banks at 3.9%.

The credit union’s net profits rose by 39% to $34.1 million for the half year ending 2012.

CUA is customer-owned providing services to over 400,000 people across Australia. The company is preparing a new banking system for a rollout starting in the next financial year.

Bouris said that he has been watching the property markets over the last two years and wondering when property values would increase and the Australian property market would recover.

There are few signs the market and economy is starting to improve, according to Bouris, and they include:

• The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a slight increase in the value of dwelling commitments for January 2013 from December 2012.
• The RP Data-Rismark Home Value Index found five of the eight Australian capital cities experienced property prices rises in February of 2013.
• The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment showed consumer confidence in Australia increased by 2% to the highest level in two years.
• Interest rates for home loans are at record low levels.
• Employment is still strong and inflation has remained low.

Bouris said that it’s not quite time to celebrate, but now is a good time to buy property.

Gen Y Justine Davies said that her generation needs to think about two structure types. Superannuation and everything outside of superannuation. Over three decades a Gen Y can afford to ride the ups and downs of investment.

Gen X Bruce Brammal said that his generation is getting married, saving deposits and struggling with ‘wealth’ issues. Gen Xer’s will come into their own as they enter their early 50s and have the time to make investments work.

Boomers Mark Bouris believes that it is important to ask oneself how much to hold onto and for how long.

Boomers need to ask themselves what they are going to do with what is left of their capital after their kids are gone. Sacrificing extra cash into super is always the best choice.

Retirees Kerrin Falconer said that the best investments for her generation are those that provide stable and regular income. She advised that it is simple and, for example, high interest savings accounts and annuities, are suitable investments.

She also said that property trusts are an option, but blue chip company shares are always a safe bet.

For example, a home loan with low rates for the first two years is best for those starting a new family.

Windeyer also said that offset accounts can be used to keep pace with lifestyle. Bonus money can be used to pay down a loan while an offset account allows consumers to redraw.

He recommended that all borrowers check the health of their home loan and be comparing available deals.

The following tips are provided for managing a home loan.

1. Fix your home loan if you are under budget constraints.
2. Keep in touch with your lender and let them know of your current situation.
3. Make the change to an interest only loan if you need a period of break from the home loan repayments. Note you may have to pay an exit fee.
4. Use your savings to your advantage by putting equity into your loan that you can access at any time through a redraw or offset account.
5. Know your redraw or offset account conditions well.
6. Roll your other debts into your loan and reduce the amounts you need to pay.

The Perth Now website reported that more than half of Australian home loan borrowers have made use of record low interest rates to pay down their debt. Figures from the Reserve Bank of Australia show Australian home loan borrowers are now 14% ahead of their loans.

Many of the big banks are reporting that their customers are ahead on their loans.

Clive Van Horen of Commonwealth Bank said that around 80% of their borrowers were ahead while David Lindenberg of Westpac said that their average customer is 7.6 years ahead in their payments.

Australian Banker’s Association chief executive, Steven Munchenberg, said that Australians are no longer using home loan equity to pay for necessities like they were during the GFC. Australians are also paying down the dangerously high debt levels that were common at the time of the GFC.

Start your initial research by combing through industry publications and websites. Newspapers and magazines are also useful providers of information.

Take advantage of your local mortgage broker and get answers specific to your particular financial situation because property purchase is a big commitment. Ask as many questions as possible.

Suggested questions include:

• How long does it take to get a home loan approved?
• Are repayments flexible? For example, as there are 26 fortnights in a year meaning payments may be equal to 13 months worth.
• Are additional payments without cost and how to go about making them?
• Does the home loan include an offset account linked to a savings account to access equity in the home loan at no charge?
• Is it possible to switch between variable and fixed rate arrangements and vice versa?

Avoid the costs associated with refinancing your loan by choosing the best loan in the first instance.

This amount is more than any other January and 24% more than the amount processed in January 2012. This is despite natural disasters in NSW and Queensland.

Your Investment Property reported that AFG has 10% of the total mortgage market and trends in its Mortgage Index usually foreshadow Australian Bureau of Statistics figures by roughly six weeks.

In WA, a variety of buyers including first home buyers, upgraders and investors led to slightly higher mortgage volumes than NSW ($583 million compared to NSW’s $569 million).

“Borrowers seem to be responding to the combination of a more positive, global economic outlook, lower rates and enhanced affordability,” said Mark Hewitt, general manager of sales and operations at AFG.

He said that the results reflect a sense of optimism and suggested that results could have been higher if NSW had kept its first home buyer grant.

Interest rate cuts have led to a decline in the number of people falling behind on their home loan repayments, to the lowest level in more than twelve months.

In a statement ratings agency Standard & Poor said “This suggests the progressive lowering of interest rates during the past year is taking effect.”

In 2012, The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lowered its cash rate to just 3% – its lowest level since the global financial crisis in 2009.

Homeowners will be pleased to know that some economists predict more rate cuts in 2013.

Queensland holds the highest rate of home owners in arrears with their home loan payments.

Standard & Poor warn that recent moves from the Queensland Government to slash public sector jobs as well as the slowdown in mining investment could affect arrears further.

When looking at rental returns Australians have seen a general decrease in the returns on property investment despite a few periods of boom during the mid-70s, early 80s, the late 80s and today.

Current housing prices have also increased compared with general levels of income. The data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) does not cover all areas of income such as superannuation.

The data in Australia goes back to 1861 and indicates the cause of the Great Depression was a direct result of a deflating land-price bubble, as each and every increase has been matched with a downturn. Credit availability is seen to be the cause of this.

Land booms and massive boom-and-bust cycles have been seen in Australian throughout the recorded history of the ABS data. At the same time, experts argue that the Australian market has not seen a cycle of this magnitude before.

Having financial flexibility as a buyer means you have more leverage during negotiations. Here are some tips from the NBC to getting yourself prepared for those important home-buying negotiations.

1. Home payments should never be more than 30% of your income. It is important to really understand how much you can really afford.
2. After calculating your budget, it is important to start implementing it. Just because you are not making those home loan repayments yet doesn’t mean you don’t have to act like it.
3. Those who have more money to put down get better rates from home loan lenders. Home loan applicants should aim to have 20% of what they want to borrow.
4. Any credit issues you may or may not have should be cleared up well before you start applying for home loans.
5. Prepare the standard documents you will need for the home loan application process before you start applying.
6. If you are already pre-approved for a home loan it will mean you have more negotiation power at the point of sale. Get approved ahead of time.