Finance & lending
Home loans, interest rates and borrowing power, and what they mean for buyers and owners.
Australia: how APRA's debt-to-income limit and buffer cap home loans
Since 1 February 2026 Australian banks may write only 20% of new home loans at six times income or more. How that limit and the 3-point serviceability buffer work.
Refinancing or repricing a Singapore home loan: lock-in, fees and tests
What Singapore's official pages say about moving a home loan: fixed, SORA and board rates, lock-in penalties, clawbacks, the one-way move from an HDB loan and the income tests.
USA: 2026 conforming loan limits, jumbo loans and cancelling PMI
The 2026 conforming loan limit is US$832,750 for a one-unit home. How the figure is set, when a mortgage becomes a jumbo loan, and the points at which private mortgage insurance ends.
US: TransUnion and Equifax let mortgage lenders buy scores later
Two of the three US credit bureaus launched tools on 8 October that let a mortgage lender pull a credit file first and add a score later. Equifax prices a 24-hour repull at US$1.
Australia's big four banks pass on the cash rate rise from 9 October
Variable home loan rates at Westpac, NAB, CBA and ANZ rise by 0.25 points on 9 October, as a Victorian mortgage stress service reports the greatest demand it has seen.
Why Australia fixes so few home loans, and how the US and Korea differ
An ABC report of 9 October sets Australia's variable-rate mortgage market beside the United States, Japan and South Korea. Reserve Bank papers explain the gap.
How much can you borrow for a home in the UAE, and what Dubai charges
The Central Bank of the UAE caps a home loan by property value, by income and by term. This guide sets out each limit, then how a mortgage is registered and enforced in Dubai.
US 30-year mortgage rate climbs to 7.40%, a fourth weekly rise
Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.40% on 8 October 2026, up from 7.28% a week earlier and 6.30% a year ago. What moved, and who feels it.
US buyers turn to adjustable-rate mortgages as fixed rates pass 7%
ICE's October 2026 Mortgage Monitor, reported by Inman, puts adjustable-rate loans at nearly 11% of US rate locks and the typical payment at 31.7% of income.
US: FHA makes new appraisal format optional as Fannie, Freddie bend
The FHA now accepts appraisals in the redesigned UAD 3.6 format without requiring it, days after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offered lenders a one-time delay into 2027.
US law lets HUD pilot support for mortgages of US$100,000 or less
Inman reports that a new US housing law lets HUD run a four-year pilot for mortgages of US$100,000 or less, a loan size that has fallen to 2.3% of the market.
Australia: RBA finds under 1% of mortgage borrowers in negative equity
The Reserve Bank's October Financial Stability Review says home prices are falling and risks are elevated, yet most Australian mortgage holders still have room to cope.
Singapore home loans: LTV, TDSR and MSR limits, HDB loan or bank loan
How much a home buyer can borrow in Singapore: the two loan-to-value tiers for bank loans, the 55% and 30% income tests, and how an HDB loan differs from a bank loan.
UAE central bank counts AED 15.9 billion of loans under payment relief
The Central Bank of the UAE says about 156,000 bank customers had payments deferred or fees waived by the end of August 2026. It gives no figure for home loans.
Fed minutes describe US mortgage financing as somewhat restrictive
The Federal Reserve's minutes of its September meeting, released on 7 October, record a unanimous rate rise and a short, sober reading of home lending in the United States.
US: FHFA reported to plan two-bureau credit reports at Fannie, Freddie
HousingWire, relaying Bloomberg, reports that the FHFA will tell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to accept credit reports built from two bureaus. Nothing is announced yet.
US mortgage applications fall 4.2% as lenders tighten credit slightly
The Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey shows US home loan applications down 4.2% in the week to 2 October, while its credit availability index slipped in September.