News

Turns out the doghouse isn’t such a bad place, after all. In a move that is drawing pawsitive response from across Australia, real estates are including “staging pets” in their property listings to boost sales. I Shih Tzu not. In Australia, 70% of households own a pet. And with almost 29 million pets in the...

Sounds like a Seinfeld bit, doesn’t it? But seriously, are they buying or bailing? Everyone’s got an opinion, depending on who you ask and what you read. This difference in opinion could be due to the fact that despite strong investment growth nationally over the past 12 months, new loan commitments have eased slightly since...

With just one RBA rate decision left for 2024, homeowners may be holding onto hopes of a summer cut. We look at when rates may start falling – and how you could possibly give yourself a rate cut before Christmas. “Are we there yet?” It’s the catch cry of kids on long summer road trips,...

Looking for something to distract you from the deluge of red, white, blue (and orange) infused news this past week? Perhaps a look at the fluctuating values of homes in some of Sydney’s most – and least – affordable locations will momentarily put a pause on the spiral. As it turns out, sustained high interest...

It’s the great Australian dream for many: giving the 9-to-5 grind the flick and running your own show. But when it comes to taking out a home loan, being your own boss can dish up some unexpected hammer blows. Rightly or wrongly, lenders tend to see self-employed borrowers as a higher risk compared to employees. That’s...

Though there’s some 8,843 miles between the US and Australia, what happens there can have profound effect on us here. Take, for instance, Halloween. An American holiday that has now bled across the borders, delivering a middle-finger shaped mixed message to every Australian kid taught from birth not to take candy from strangers. Of course,...

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made headlines this week not for his policies, but his growing property portfolio. The news of his recent purchase of a $4.3 million clifftop home in Copacabana on the Central Coast – which he’ll likely move into once his stint is up at The Lodge – has ruffled some feathers amidst...

Planning to buy your first home? It takes (on average) about five to six years to save a deposit at present. But who’s got the patience to save for six years? Today we’ll look at four ways you could fast-track home ownership. They say patience is a virtue. But the narrator/protagonist of the poem that coined...

September saw the nation’s official cash rate kept on hold once again. But there is growing consensus that the RBA may cut the cash rate at one of its next few meetings. Several of the big banks, including Westpac and NAB, are expecting rate cuts in the first half of next year. Others, such as the Commonwealth Bank,...

Remember the first time you stepped into a gym? It’s unlikely you swaggered your way over to the free weights rack and started busting out squats. Well, it turns out buying your first home can be just as daunting, with 91% of first-home buyers turning to a mortgage broker for guidance. When it comes to...