Great news for homeowners and prospective buyers: housing affordability is at its best level in a decade and should continue to improve throughout 2021. Housing affordability improved in all major Australian cities over the year to September 2020 despite the ongoing global pandemic, according to a new report by investor service Moody’s. “Owning a house was the most affordable it’s been in a decade in most major capital cities during the last six months,” Moody’s says. What is housing affordability? Put simply, improved housing affordability means that households are spending a smaller portion of their monthly income on their mortgage. Two-income households, for example, needed 23% of monthly

Small business owners in need of credit will be buoyed by new data that shows the approval rate for loans has remained strong throughout the coronavirus crisis. In fact, about 70% of SME business loan applications received by lenders have been approved since early February, according to Australian Banking Association (ABA) statistics. That’s resulted in more than 128,000 Australian sole traders, small businesses and medium-sized businesses receiving loans, with an average loan size of $320,000. Breaking it down further, that’s 500 new SME loans a day for more than 250 days. The ABA data is in line with the latest Sensis Business Index, which shows 26% of businesses that applied for finance o

Consumer sentiment is surging, confidence in the housing market is booming, and the number of experts tipping a Melbourne Cup Day cash rate cut is increasing. Let’s look at why households and businesses are becoming increasingly optimistic. Ahh, spring. It’s fair to say we love it around here. Not only do we usually see an uptick in property market activity (houses always look much nicer in spring), but this year – in particular – we’re seeing consumers more upbeat about what lies ahead. This can be seen in the latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment survey, which saw consumer sentiment increase by 11.9% to 105.0 in October (up from 93.8 in September). “This is an extr

Thousands of families across the country who had been thinking about a new build, or tackling an overdue renovation project, have rolled up their sleeves and committed to it, according to latest ABS data. And to be honest, we’re not overly surprised. The federal government’s $25,000 HomeBuilder grant is nothing to sneeze at. But the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) Lending Indicators data makes for very encouraging reading nonetheless. It shows the total value of new loan commitments for housing rose 12.6% in August to $21.3 billion. There was also a big increase in people seeking to renovate their homes. ABS building approval data shows the value of alterations and additions to reside

There was one big-ticket initiative in the federal budget that really caught our eye, and that was the turbocharged version of the instant asset write-off scheme. Today we’ll look at how it could improve your business’s cash flow moving forward. Did you catch the announcement that businesses, both big and small, can now immediately write off any eligible depreciable asset, at any cost, up until 30 June 2022? Well, that’s any business with a turnover of up to $5 billion (and I don’t know about you, but I don’t rub shoulders with many businesses that size). Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the initiative will unlock investment opportunities for businesses by freeing up their cash flow. “A trucki

The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme is back; bigger, better and more buyer-friendly than before. If you’re a first home buyer who missed out on the first two rounds, then here’s how to make it a case of third time’s a charm! It’s federal budget week, and this year’s big winners in the world of property and finance are first home buyers, with the federal government announcing a fresh extension to the First Home Loan Deposit scheme (FHLDS). Today we’ll look at why the third iteration of this super popular scheme might be a better fit for your first home-buying prospects than the previous two versions. Why’s this scheme so popular? The FHLDS allows eligible first home buyers with only a 5% depos

You might have recently heard that ‘responsible lending laws’ are set to be scrapped early next year. Rest assured though that you’ll still be able to borrow responsibly. Let us explain how. The planned scrapping of the responsible lending laws is the federal government’s latest key initiative to boost economic recovery from the COVID-19 recession. Now, the federal government (and the banks) say it will simplify the regulatory landscape and free up access to credit for home buyers and small businesses. Consumer rights advocates, on the other hand, argue it’s all about “giving a free-kick to the banks” and will put borrowers at risk. But, here’s the good news. Not only can we assist you in ma