The recap of this weeks mortgage, home loan and housing news in Australia.

The top stories for the week ending 14/10/07:

MFAA introduces new hardship assistance for borrowers
MFAA
The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has introduced new measures to ensure non bank lenders, mortgage managers and brokers assist borrowers who find themselves in financial difficulty.

Fix your home loan and say aloha
News.com.au
From the article “Lock in a fixed rate and book that ticket to Hawaii — the Aussie dollar is heading for par with the greenback. That’s the word from currency analysts yesterday as the Australian dollar rose to a 23-year-high of 90.18c mid-afternoon against the US dollar.”

Lending Figures Highlight Housing Stress
HIA - Housing Industry Association
Home lending data for August points to the continuation of a wide gap between new housing supply and demand and explains increases in existing house prices and rents.

A November rate hike gets more likely by the day
Peter Martin
From the article “Australia’s unemployment rate has fallen to a new 33-year low and the ACT’s to its lowest on record, adding to pressure for a mid-election campaign rate rise”……”Another hike in Australian interest rates – the tenth successive hike – would lift the standard bank variable mortgage rate to 8.32 per cent, adding a further $70 a month to repayments on a $400,000 loan”

Levy cuts ‘may lead to cheaper housing’
The Age
New homes in growth centres on Sydney’s western fringes could cost $25,000 less after the NSW government on Friday announced it will cut developers’ council and state levies. Premier Morris Iemma said the reduction in property development and housing contribution levies would help young families into new homes.

Govt looking at housing stock increase
The Age
The federal government is looking at ways to increase the country’s housing stock for renters and buyers, Treasurer Peter Costello said. He said he wanted to get more houses built and make more supply available to ease current low housing affordability.

Property may not be the best investment
David Koch - Yahoo7
From the article “If your great Australian dream is still a home on a quarter acre block but all you can afford is just the block, don’t despair, it could actually work out in your favour! Buying a home is more about security and lifestyle these days, rather than investing, as there are plenty of better ways to make returns than property.”