Valentine’s Day sparks financial scams
No rest for the wicked indeed, even on Valentine’s Day, as romance scam activities targeting unsuspecting Aus...
High cash rate spurs refinancing activity in 2023
New mortgages fell as Aussies opt to refinance in a bid to circumvent the impact of high cash rates gripping the ho...
Improving consumer sentiment reality-checked by RBA messaging
With the RBA still warning inflation remains too high, and suggesting further rate hikes remain a possibility, Australians are cautious about getting too opt...
Nearly 19k first home buyers benefit from NSW stamp duty relief
Thousands of first home buyers in New South Wales have saved up to $30,000 in stamp duty following reforms that lif...
Term deposit rates move in different directions in the wake of RBA pause
In the wake of RBA’s decision to keep the cash rate unchanged in February, some of Australia’s big bank...
RBA fence-sitting leads to lenders hedging their bets on home loans
An RBA cash rate hold and a refusal to rule out, or rule-in, further rate hikes has led to quite a few lenders adjusting rates slightly on home loans.
Why do home values fluctuate if there’s a chronic supply shortage?
Generally, prices tend to go higher when supply lags behind demand. But despite the ongoing housing supply shortage...
More sellers in major cities list their properties under distressed conditions
During a traditionally quiet time for residential listings, SQM Research data showed January saw an increasing numb...
Red-hot rental market: Vacancy in Australia’s capital cities at critical levels in January
As tenants grapple with rising rent prices and a chronic supply shortage, the latest PropTrack report points to no ...
Reserve Bank holds rates steady in February, but future hikes 'cannot be ruled out'
After its inaugural two-day meeting, the Reserve Bank on Tuesday has decided to keep the cash rate unchanged at 4.35% in February.
Property settlements down in 2023, but Q4 sales boom suggests growing momentum
Property sales transactions across five mainland states in 2023 fell 9.1% year-on-year, the latest PEXA Property In...
What's the RBA got cooking up for the cash rate in February?
The Reserve Bank is all but certain to hold the cash rate at February's monetary policy board meeting, according to a near-unanimous view of economists and e...
Two-thirds of Aussies under dire levels of rental stress
Seven out of 10 Australian renters are paying more than 30% of their gross income on rent, with over two-thirds mod...
Average home loan size rockets to $624k, renters' hands forced
New ABS data showed the value of new home loans fell 4.1% to $26.27 billion in December but the average loan size for owner occupiers hit a new record of $62...
Banks adjust term deposit rates, largely to the disappointment of savers
During what has been a pretty busy week for depositors, a major Australian bank led other notable players in adjust...
Lenders slash home loan rates ahead of RBA meeting
As the masses eye the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) ahead of its board’s February meeting, lenders appear more confident of a future cash rate ...
Building pipeline shrinks at the end of 2023
New ABS data revealed dwellings approved for construction fell by a seasonally adjusted 9.5% in December, mounting ...
Home values accelerate, marking 12 consecutive months of gains
Australia’s housing market opened the year with another monthly price increase across property types. ...
Westpac fined $1.8m for 'unconscionable conduct' on record transaction
The Federal Court found Westpac engaged in unconscionable conduct ahead of executing the largest interest rate swap...
Inflation falls faster than expected, RBA rate hike all but ruled out
Quarterly inflation fell faster than expected as prices increased at a slower pace in December, reinforcing market forecasts the RBA will the hold interest r...
Retail sales tumble in December as Aussies cut back on spending after Black Friday
Retail trade plunged 2.7% in December as spending slowed after a series of Black Friday sales events.
Quest for growth: Macquarie Bank reprices variable-rate home loans
Following moves on fixed rates last week, Macquarie Bank has slashed rates on a wide variety of variable-rate home loans. Is this a signal of things to come?...
December saw first quarterly increase to mortgage applications since 2021
Credit figures for the December quarter show encouraging trends, with demand for new home and car loans growing, but Aussies' financial resilience will likel...
No reprieve for renters: Rental supply plummets to historic low as demand grows
The number of available properties for rent plunged to a historic low in December, with worsening supply and demand...
