Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Burrawang - Best NSW Pub!

Julie and I are great mates with the owners of Burrawang Pub. Last night at the SMH Good Pub Food Guide Awards they won Best Country Pub AND best Overall Pub for NSW. We couldn't think of a more deserving reward for the incredible hard work and dedication they offer to the responsible drinking public. I recall back in the early 90's, Ed and Julie were looking for a run down pub they could weave their magic around and they certainly found it in the little village of Burrawang. Having done their time in various ownership and managerial roles in Jerilderie and Wollongong, they felt it was time to capitalise on their skills and experience. They took over at Burrawang in January 1993 and they were greeted within a couple of days of ownership with a huge hail storm that smashed most of the south facing windows and stripped all the wonderful trees of their leaves. Welcome to your new home! I've watched the long hours and tasteful evolution of the Burrawang Pub into its award winning persona over the past 19 years. And in fact Julie and I were married in the grounds of the pub in 2008.
Congratulations to Ed, Julie, Peter and all the team at Burrawang Pub.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Weekly Wrap up - Apart-Age is alive and well?

The recently introduced National Credit Code has had a side effect. Previously banks were comfortable lending to over 50's (even using 20-30 year loan terms) as most loans are paid out in under 12 years. The banks are now tightening their lending criteria. Lenders now 'ask for evidence of how the borrower will pay out the loan on retirement or death, using the code to explain their decision. The code requires lenders to ensure borrowers can afford to service their loans.'
I'd be interested to know the delinquency rate for a mortgagor who takes out a loan after the age of 50. I suspect it's quite low!
Real Estate Matters:
Reserve Bank decision due tomorrow on official cash rates. Like most of these monthly events, there are various opinions on which way the RBA will jump. Its unlikely to be anything greater than a 0.25% drop if at all. My betting is that they will keep their powder dry and leave rates where they are. The European situation is still very volatile and the RBA will likely want scope to reduce rates if things go really turtle up.
We saw 2386 unique visits to our web properties which has remained steady for a couple of weeks.
Auction clearance rates - Sydney 53% and Melbourne 55%

Quote for the week:
How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?
- Leroy (Satchel) Paige