Investors back in market

By Graeme Salt Investors are showing increased confidence in the property market and are increasingly looking to buy property. New figures from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) show that, for the first time in a decade, the growth in investor finance is now higher than for owner-occupied properties. And, according to the latest Westpac […]
Prepare for take-off

By Graeme Salt Prices for first home-buyer properties are about to take off due to recent announcements from the federal government. Following of the from its election commitment, the Labor Party has announced an expansion of the first home buyers’ scheme – beginning this October. These changes see an expansion of the scheme and the […]
Is Covid still driving the property market?

By Graeme Salt Australians have coped with 4.25 per cent rate rises between 2022 and 2024 – which may indicate resilience of the household budget, the economy and the property market. Much of this is due to buffers built up during the pandemic according to new research. During 2020-2021, household savings shot up to around […]
Rate cuts may not have immediate impact on the market

By Graeme Salt While this month’s rate cut has arguably stirred the property market, it may not create a property market frenzy of old. This may be good news for would-be home buyers. The market has certainly responded positively to the August rate cut, with the combined capital’s preliminary auction clearance rate rising to 75.0 […]
What is the price of your kid’s education?

By Graeme Salt New analysis from Cotality reveals that families are paying up to $1.3 million more for houses inside sought-after public school catchments in Sydney and Melbourne – but that does not always equate to stronger capital growth. In many of our larger cities, parents choose to live within the catchments of good public […]
Not all banks will lend to you

By Graeme Salt You’d be surprised at how Australians can come to banks with very different situations and how not all banks will look at every scenario. Differing employment situations, visas, savings positions mean that the days of a straight-forward PAYG loan where you just talked to your own bank have long gone and why […]
How to get ahead with the mortgage

By Graeme Salt The next move for rates is down and home-owners could shave over two years off a 25-year-mortgage if they keep their repayments the same as before the February and May interest rate cuts. Increasingly, Aussies are saving rather than spending extra cash with CBA figures this week showing only 10 per cent […]
With rate cuts, it’s a question of when, not if

This month the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) surprisingly kept interest rates on hold, when economists were predicting a rate cut. But, at her subsequent press conference, Reserve Bank Governor (Michelle Bullock) made it clear that the next move for rates was down. Of the RBA committee that voted on rates, six members voted for […]
Generation Rent: Aussies who fear they’ll rent forever

Kirsten Craze| Daily Telegraph| 27 September 2019 https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/generation-rent-aussies-who-fear-theyll-rent-forever/news-story/536bfb623c91856eb0416922617beced A growing number of Australians are becoming part of ‘Generation Rent’. Picture: Jason EdwardsSource:News Corp Australia Australia’s “generation rent” is a growing breed, but property and finance experts believe there is light at the end of the tenant tunnel for those who can think outside the box. […]
Why you should try selling a home in a festively-named street at Christmas

Melissa Heagney| Domain| 4 December 2019 https://www.domain.com.au/news/why-you-should-try-selling-a-home-in-a-festively-named-street-at-christmas-914833/ People selling a house in a uniquely-named street name could add thousands of dollars to the sale price, new research shows. Academics from Deakin University, National University Singapore and the Chinese University of Hong Kong found that Sydneysiders had a preference for longer, one-word street names in their […]