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What’s the best day to auction your house?

Drive or walk around your local suburb mid-morning on a Saturday and chances are you’ll pass a few freshly banged up ‘Auction’ signs. But is Saturday actually the best day to auction your home? New data suggests perhaps not. We all love a good auction story. You’ve probably got a mate or two whose favourite dinner party story is the time they crushed all their competitors’ hopes and dreams with a final $10,000 sledgehammer bid. But for every tenacious bidder,…...
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How much extra will your mortgage cost when interest rates rise?

After 18 straight RBA cash rate cuts it can be easy to dismiss the notion that interest rates might rise again. But if the cash rate returned to mid-2019 levels, how much extra would an average new mortgage holder expect to pay each month? Let’s take a look. They say what goes up, must come down. But does what goes down, have to come up? Well, the big banks think so - and sooner than many expect. While the RBA…...
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First home loan deposit schemes open for applications

If you’d like to buy your first home with just a 5% deposit and pay no lenders mortgage insurance (LMI), then you better act quick, as thousands of first home buyers are expected to rush to apply for the limited spots up for grabs. And if you’re a single parent with dependent children, a similar scheme now allows you to purchase a home with just a 2% deposit without paying LMI, regardless of whether or not you’re a first home…...
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EOFY alert! Financial year end just days away

Small business owners wanting to buy a vehicle, asset or important piece of equipment and immediately write off the cost only have a few days to act this financial year. Ah, deadlines: love ‘em or hate ‘em, they sure do get you moving. And with June 30 just days away, time is running out for your business to take advantage of the federal government’s temporary full expensing scheme this financial year. What is temporary full expensing? Temporary full expensing is…...
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Property price caps increased for first home loan deposit scheme

First home buyers can now purchase more expensive properties under the federal government’s hugely popular 5% deposit, no LMI scheme. Single parents with dependent children are also welcoming the higher property price caps, which will apply to the federal government’s new Family Home Guarantee scheme, too. The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) allows eligible first home buyers with only a 5% deposit to purchase a property without forking out for lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI), which can save buyers anywhere…...
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Size matters: how to get more bang for your buck on property sizes

An increasing number of Australians are prioritising larger homes and bigger blocks in their house-hunting endeavours since the pandemic began. But where to look? Well, a new search tool helps you calculate which suburbs offer the best bang for your buck. ‘Give me a home among the gumtrees ...' There’s no denying that COVID-19 has resulted in a widespread shift in attitudes on how a family home can contribute to a better work/life balance. With flexible work arrangements becoming the…...
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Aussie businesses load up on light commercial vehicles

Australian businesses have shifted things up a gear this year, with new asset finance figures revealing a 187% rise in light commercial vehicle purchases since January. The spike in business vehicle financing was driven by sales of all classes of vehicles, no doubt partly due to SMEs making the most of the federal government’s temporary full expensing scheme (aka instant asset write-off) ahead of June 30. Here’s a quick snapshot of the Commonwealth Bank’s (CBA) business financing figures by vehicle…...
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33 suburbs where buyers still have the upper hand over sellers

Most of Australia may be a seller’s market right now, but there are still a few dozen suburbs around the country where there’s more housing stock available than in previous years. Today we’ll check out which 33 suburbs are still offering plenty of options for buyers. One key factor that’s resulted in the current “seller’s market” across the majority of Australia is the low level of housing stock available for sale. In the three months to May, CoreLogic estimates that…...
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4 in 5 hopeful buyers don’t understand key financial concepts

While most Australians dream of owning their own home, the majority of hopeful homeowners admit they don’t fully understand how home loans or mortgage rates work. That’s why we make it our mission to enlighten you during your home buying journey. They say knowledge is power. But this week we stumbled across some interesting stats from UBank's Know Your Numbers survey. It found that 84% of Australians who are yet to buy a property admit they don't know enough about…...
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Pedal to the metal: EOFY is officially bearing down on us

Keen to buy a vehicle, asset or another vital piece of equipment for your business and immediately write off the cost? Well, you better get cracking, as we’re officially entering end-of-financial-year territory. How time flies. It feels like only yesterday that we were gearing up for the year, and now, it’s all systems go to beat the EOFY deadline. Why the hurry? Well, businesses keen to invest in their future can immediately write off the full value of any eligible…...
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