News and Advice

We took a look at the true costs, including the biggest hurdle-a deposit, as well as the impost of stamp duty for first home buyers trying to buy a home for owner occupation. The first chart highlights the 25th percentile prices for houses and units across each of the capital cities.  The 25th percentile price...

As mortgage rates have fallen over recent years, certain cities, namely Sydney and Melbourne, have seen heightened demand and a rapid rate of sale for properties. We look at the 10 suburbs in each state and territory that have had the shortest median selling time over the 12 months to January 2017 for houses...

Taking a look at the top and bottom performing council areas for median house price growth over the past two decades shows that Sydney and Melbourne have generally outperformed. Over the 20 years to December 2016, median selling prices of houses nationally have increased at a compound annual rate of 7.2%,...

A retrospective look at median dwelling values across the suburbs of Australia shows the bracket creep that has occurred over the current growth cycle, highlighting the deterioration of more affordable housing across the capital cities over the past five years. At the end of 2016, 7.6% of suburbs nationally had...

  The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) is cracking down on interest-only loans. After an eight-month investigation, the regulator found many lenders had been falling short of legal standards in assessing applications. I’m all for responsible lending and in most cases I’d say you should pay...

Proper bridging finance is the secret to success, writes Effie Zahos Is it possible to buy a property before you sell? Absolutely! I’ve done it – but not without a few butterflies. You’ve got to be confident that your property will sell and that it will sell in record time. If you can’t engineer a simultaneous...

Twelve months ago John signed up for a $600,000 off-the-plan purchase. A deposit of 10% was all he needed to secure it. At the time his bank was prepared to lend him up to 95% ($570,000). Fast-forward and today his bank, thanks to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s clampdown, is now only prepared...