Mark Bristow

Sydney and Hobart are Australia’s least affordable cities for first home buyers

A new report has confirmed what many of us suspected - soaring property prices have made a significant impact on housing affordability for Australia’s first home buyers, especially in the capital cities.

How much equity do I need for a home loan?

Buying your first home involves paying a deposit on the property. Saving up this deposit can be a challenge, but once you have a mortgage, you can start building up equity in the property. This equity could eventually be used to refinance your home loan, access a line or credit, or even to take out a mortgage on a second property. So how much equity would you need to start building your property portfolio?

Fraud prevention tool to detect liar loans

If you’ve ever stretched the truth on a loan application in order to look better for a bank, your chances of loan approval may be shrinking, thanks to a tool used to detect “liar loans” from a new startup.

How could Australia exiting coal affect energy prices?

AGL Energy recently turned down an offer by Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes and asset manager Brookfield to buy the energy provider in order to accelerate its exit from coal power stations. But hypothetically, how could a faster switch to greener energy affect your power bill?

Some of the best home loans in February 2022

While the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept the national cash rate on hold at the start of February, economists with several leading banks are predicting that rates will start rising in the second half of 2022. With over 1.1 million Australian households having never previously experienced a rate rise, these changes could potentially affect many household budgets.

How could OwnHome work for you?

You may have heard about OwnHome, the rent-to-own startup backed by the Commonwealth Bank, looking to bring a new way to get your foot onto the first rung of the property ladder. But how exactly do the costs break down, and are you really better off than using a traditional mortgage?

Will house prices really drop by 10%? Here's what the banks have to say

Some leading banks are forecasting that the widely anticipated hike to the national cash rate could lead to Australian property prices declining by up to 10 per cent by the end of 2022. What would this mean for you and your mortgage?

The hidden costs of buying a home

Most first homebuyers know that the two main costs of their first mortgage are the upfront cost of the deposit on the property, and the ongoing expense of mortgage repayments. But what other costs will you need to budget for when you apply for your first home loan?

How to find (and pay for) your first mortgage by yourself

Where do you start looking for your first mortgage? Many budding first homebuyers go straight to their current bank to see if they can get a loan. This may be one of the simplest options, but it may not be the most affordable choice or the best option to suit your financial situation.

When do the big four banks think mortgage rates will rise?

Even though the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held the national cash rate at its record low of 0.10 per cent in February 2022, change is in the air. While it’s not yet known exactly when the RBA will raise the rate that affects everything from mortgage repayments to savings accounts, the nation’s big four banks are making preparations based on their own forecasts.