Posts categorised as 'First home buyers'
Home-ownership within reach: will you qualify for new buyer scheme?
Imagine buying your first home with only a 5% deposit and not having to pay lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). Well, that dream is one step closer to reality after the government introduced legislation to implement the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme. Currently, people with a deposit of less than 20% usually have to pay LMI. Read More
Has the tide turned? Household lending surges.
Lending to Aussie households spiked 3.9% in July, the strongest growth seen since October 2014, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The bumper month follows a 1.9% rise in June 2019, suggesting the tide has finally started to turn in the lending market. “Whoa. Quite the surge in housing credit in July,” remarked Read More
Ever dreamed of starting your own business?
Ever been tempted to tell the boss you’re leaving to start your own business? You’re not alone. In fact, more than nine million Aussies dream about becoming their own boss. However, the biggest hurdle for 60% of those people (5.4 million) is ‘access to money’, according to research commissioned by the Australian Banking Association (ABA). Read More
Is the housing market drought finally over?
Marge, Marge, the rains are ‘ere! Home prices have recorded their first rise since October 2017, with national dwelling values increasing 0.8% over August, according to the latest CoreLogic report. Housing values across capital cities rose by 1%, with Sydney (1.6%), Melbourne (1.4%), Canberra (0.8%), Hobart (0.5%) and Brisbane (0.2%) leading the way. While the Read More
Buy now, pay now: the importance of budgeting for gifts.
How much do you think the average Aussie spends on gifts each month? $20, $50 or 100? (hint: we’re a generous bunch). Today we’ll look at why it’s important to budget for these expenses correctly, rather than succumbing to ‘buy now, pay later’ services. Did you know Australians spend nearly $20 billion a year on Read More
Caviar and wine, anyone? What a court ruling means for you.
Indulgences such as caviar, wagyu beef and the finest bottles of wine shouldn’t count against you when lenders assess your application for finance, a Federal Court judge has said. Ok, so maybe Federal Court Justice Nye Perram has a slightly different grocery list to the rest of us. But his recent judgement should be welcome Read More
Planning ahead: RBA says expect long-term low interest rates
Good news for mortgage holders this week, with the RBA saying “it’s reasonable to expect an extended period of low interest rates”. Figures released on Wednesday show that core inflation, the RBA’s preferred measure, is currently at 1.4%. However, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe says it is highly unlikely the RBA will Read More
How criminals steal your identity to steal your money.
Scams involving identity theft have cost Australians at least $16 million this year, and that figure is likely to be just the “tip of the iceberg”, says the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Worryingly, four in every 10 Scamwatch reports so far in 2019 have involved an attempt to gain information or the actual Read More
Housing affordability the best it’s been since 1999: HIA
Great news for home buyers – housing affordability is the best it’s been since 1999, according to new data released by the nation’s peak housing and building body. That’s right – housing affordability is comparable to the days when the Y2K bug had us fearing for our lives, Nokia Snake was the pinnacle of mobile Read More
How to find a bank with strong corporate social responsibility.
Yes, we’re well aware that this may sound like an oxymoron to some! But cheeky jokes aside, this is a question we’ve been increasingly receiving. So today we thought we’d look into what good corporate social responsibility means, and how you can find it in a bank. What do you look for when pairing with Read More
