Laine Gordon

Super Guarantee rise and the single parent home scheme start today: but beware of the fine print

Today two government initiatives kick off, designed to provide Australians with a more secure future, but not everyone is guaranteed to be a winner.

NAB hikes 2-, 3- and 4-year fixed home loan rates

Australia’s third largest lender, NAB, has hiked its 2-,3- and 4-year fixed rates for owner-occupiers paying principal and interest by up to 0.10 per cent.

Bank fees fall, but Australians still fork out $3.56 billion

Australians forked out $3.56 billion in personal bank fees last financial year, new figures from the RBA show. This equates to around $364 per household in bank fees a year.

Rising property prices pushing more Australians to take on risky levels of debt

New figures from APRA show value of new home loans with a debt-to-income ratio of six and over climbed to $23.77 billion in March, an increase from 16 per cent to 19 per cent year-on-year as a proportion of new lending.

1 in 3 Australians have fallen victim to a financial scam

Almost one third of Australians have been hit by a financial scam, new RateCity research shows. Scams included credit card hacks, identity theft and people who had been tricked into handing over money.

Over 1 million homeowners have never experienced an RBA hike

While the Reserve Bank has left the cash rate unchanged at 0.10 per cent today, a rate hike is on the horizon in 2024 – the same time many homeowners will be coming off a 3-year fixed rate.

NAB cuts fixed rates, again

Australia’s third largest bank has cut its lowest 2-year fixed rate to 1.89 per cent today – a cut of 0.15 per cent.

Risky home loan lending on the rise

Data released by APRA today has confirmed the number of high-risk new home loans is increasing.

Westpac the third big bank to slash fixed rates

Westpac now has the lowest 2-year fixed rate in the market at 1.79 per cent.

$140 less a month: how falling mortgage repayments are pushing up property prices

The RBA has left the cash rate on hold today at 0.10 per cent, despite escalating property prices across the country.