Budget winners: first home buyers, regional buyers, single parents
First home buyers, regional buyers and single parents keen to crack the property market are the big winners in this year’s federal budget – with 50,000 low deposit, no LMI scheme spots up for grabs. Want to buy your first home with just a 5% deposit and pay no lenders’ mortgage insurance? You could be in luck – the federal government is expanding its hugely popular First Home Guarantee scheme to 35,000 places from July 1, 2022. First home buyers who use the First Home Guarant
How much have car prices gone up since the pandemic began?
Most of you would have noticed that car prices have gone up significantly over the past two years. But how much have they gone up exactly? Let’s take a look. You’re not imagining things – both new and used vehicle prices have gone up over the past two years (not to mention, house prices, petrol, groceries – everything, it seems, except wages). Reasons for car price hikes include supply issues stemming from a semiconductor shortage, increases in cost for raw materials, complic
16 ways the government should tackle housing affordability: report
Think property prices have gone a little bonkers? You’re not the only one. Which is why a report with 16 recommendations to tackle housing affordability has just been plonked on pollies’ desks in Canberra. Today we’ll run through them for you (succinctly, we promise). You might have noticed that property prices have skyrocketed over the past 18 months, to the point where a lot of first home buyers are now having real difficulties cracking the market. So how is the government
What’s your debt-to-income ratio? And why do lenders care about it?
New data from the lending watchdog reveals almost one in four new mortgages are risky. How are they deemed risky? Well, it’s got something to do with your debt-to-income ratio, which we’ll explain in this week’s article. Your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio might sound complicated, but it’s really very simple to work out. Basically, your DTI is a measurement used by lenders that compares your total debt to your gross household income. The formula is: total debt / gross income = de
Flood victims can defer loan repayments for up to 3 months
Home and business owners impacted by the floods in New South Wales and Queensland can apply to their lender for a three-month loan deferral or reduced payment arrangement. Here’s how to apply if you or someone you know has been impacted. Another year, another disaster. In 2019 it was the bushfires. In 2020 it was COVID-19 (which, you know, is still hanging around). In 2021 a mice plague. And now to kick-off 2022 we’ve had half the eastern seaboard inundated with floods. Fortu
Which two capital cities might have just hit their property price peak?
It’s a three-speed property market across the country right now, with two capital cities showing signs prices might’ve peaked, three cities looking like they could soon peak, and three still going strong. How is the market performing in your neck of the woods? While national housing prices have increased a staggering 20.6% over the past 12 months, every capital city and broad ‘rest-of-state’ region is now recording a slowing trend in value growth, according to the latest Core
