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

With an election looming there is plenty of people with plenty to say on the headline issues of interest rates and housing affordability as politicians battle for votes and lobby groups battle for attention. Cutting through the spin is a challenge for the consumer making decisions on the home financing front but also their vote - Here is some of the top stories for the week ending 28/10/07:

Time to think about fixing
News.com.au
Anna Fenech writes about the looming possibility of interest rate rises suggesting it may be time for borrowers to consider fixing their home loan. Irrelevant of the federal election outcome all reports point to future rises.

Pros and cons of refinancing
SMH - Business Day
Perrie Croshaw points out that if your home loan is reasonably small, it may take some time before the savings of a lower interest rate actually make up for the cost of refinancing.

Reserve will move the rate lever with care
Sunday Herald Sun
Terry McCrann shares his views on the potential decisions of the Reserve Bank foreseeing a slim chance of rates not moving up after the Melbourne Cup and the possibility of further rises. Although, let’s take one decision at a time suggest McCrann as we look across the seas at the effects of China and the US markets on our economy and ultimately the decisions of the RBA. On the matter of future rate rises, the ANZ has released it’s weekly Economic Research [here] commenting “It now looks as though the Reserve Bank has considerably more work to do in order to dampen medium-term inflationary pressures. We now expect three more 25bp rate hikes in the current tightening cycle - once in November and two more in the first half of 2008.”

Costello warns banks not to raise rates
Sunday Herald Sun
Treasurer Peter Costello has put banks on notice stating that there is no need to raise rates in response to tightening credit markets stemming from the US sub-prime fallout after John Stewart’s warning that banks may raise rates on existing loans regardless of whether the Reserve Bank lifts official rates next month.

Make the loan work for you
SMH - Business Day
Perrie Croshaw writes about negotiating your way to a better deal on a home loan by putting yourself in the position of power as the consumer and work through all the packages available to find the deal that’s right for you.

September 2007 Quarter Housing Data - [PDF]
The Australian Property Monitors have released this months housing data making the key points that a) Looming interest rate rise to hit lower to middle income mortgage holders hard and b) In the property market the gap between rich and poor is set to widen further. The report also indicates Canberra as the most heated of Australia’s property markets and Melbourne is continuing to boom.

Why buy when you can rent?
SMH
Every cloud has a silver lining they say, and it appears many are not put off by rising housing prices by renting a little longer and taking advantage of a booming stockmarket. The article takes commentary from a number of financial experts and looks at the longer term strategies including retirement and renting.

Housing affordability
ABC
Anne Delaney and Scott Mildren weigh up some of the facts on housing affordability with more figures indicating that first time buyers may be aiming high. The article also outlines the difficulty in using generalisations with the housing market being very complex and diverse.