Australians don’t appear to be feeling the heat of the interest rate rises yet, with credit card spending hitting a record high and debt dropping to almost a two-decade low. In fact, debt accruing interest fell to $16.94 billion in August, in original terms according to the latest RBA data released today. This is actually…
The way property is bought and sold has changed a lot in Australia over the past few decades. Not only have we seen listings move from shop windows to online portals, but buyer’s agents have become a growing part of the sector, too. While they have been a part of the profession in the US for…
It’s fair to say most of us enjoy making money, and we would like as much of the stuff as possible. That’s fair enough. There’s nothing more rewarding than having enough money to choose if and when you retire, where you travel and how often, and how well off your loved ones and kids will…
Do you safeguard your credit and debit cards against fraud? Well, according to the latest data from Finder, you should. In fact, millions of Australians have lost more than $1 billion to scammers after having their bank cards skimmed. This is based on a nationally representative survey of 1,058 respondents that revealed 1 in 7…
With interest rates rising, is now the time to shift your focus to cash flow? It is understandable as the cost of holding an investment property increases the more interest rates rise. For the best part of a decade, this has not been much of a concern for the average investor, with interest rates at…
Are you still out there spending up big? Well if so, you’re in good company. Despite the rising cost of living and higher interest rates the latest figures show retail sales rose 0.6% month on month in August, following on from the punchy 1.3% month-on-month gain in July. The solid rise signals the consumer remains…
Australians have experienced substantial increases in our cost of living over the past few months. In fact, based on Roy Morgan’s and Melbourne Institute’s research, for most people, making ends meet can require changes to behaviour and finding ways to mitigate the impact of higher prices on their personal finances. The survey recently asked Australians…
We keep track of housing finance approvals as the are a good “leading indicator” of what’s ahead for our property markets. Based on the recent data released by the ABS, housing loan approvals fell 3.4% month on month in August, following a sharp 8.5% fall in July, As you can see from the see charts,…
How is the spring season shaping up for Australia’s housing markets? Well, the property markets have slowed as interest rates have risen, and apart from falling consumer confidence and concerns about inflation, one of the big factors driving property prices lower is prospective buyers’ reduced borrowing capacity. Ms Eleanor Creagh, Senior Economist for REA shared…
It’s no real surprise that the PropTrack Home Price Index shows that home prices continued to fall across the country in September. However it was the smallest decline since prices began slipping in April. Sydney and Melbourne prices fell only 0.18% and 0.29%. And of course not all the nation’s property markets are being impacted equally….
