Throughout April we found some potential buyers without recent pre-approval are unable to borrow from some lenders. Lenders have further tightened their assessment around employment/income and what effect COVID-19 has on each applicant’s position.
From an operations perspective, since lenders currently do not require us to meet clients face to face, Search brokers have become Zoom experts. Every lender is allowing us to interview clients over the telephone and via video conferencing. In these circumstances, the client still needs to provide a certified ID and must show us the ID over the video call.
There has been some talk of negative interest rates in the near future. Will the RBA go to zero interest rates next week or is there enough light at the end of the tunnel to hold off until June? CoreLogic’s Head of Research Eliza Owen believes the current rate could be here to stay for the foreseeable future. “The record low rate of 0.25% may be in place for years to come. No doubt, the RBA will be closely monitoring the impact of record low interest rates and other stimulus measures on the economy,” Owen said.
Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe said the virus pandemic has become an economic crisis, but a recovery will not be far away. “The coronavirus remains first and foremost a very major public health issue.”
Lender application processing times have blown out slightly in some cases, but most remain reasonable.
Bank SA | 4-5 days | ANZ | 4-5 days |
NAB | 12 days | CBA | 4-5 days |
Westpac | 10-15 days | Choicelend | 4-5 days |
Adelaide Bank | 4-5 days | Suncorp | 7-9 days |
Bankwest | 4-5 days | Beyond Bank | 3-4 days |
Homestart | 5-6 days | ING | 3-4 days |
These are uncertain times but rest assured we are still working, just in a different way and still aim to provide great service to our clients.
Stay Safe,
Search Mortgages