For most people who buy a home, a mortgage represents the single largest debt they will take on in their lives. But what happens if the market value of a property you’ve bought falls below the amount you still owe on your home loan? This situation is called “negative equity”. In Australia, decades of house…
Australia’s migration system is complicated. It’s heavily influenced by politics and global pressures, which can make it difficult to understand. This often results in lively debates across the dinner table. But given migration is dominating public discussion at the moment, it’s worth explaining how the system operates so we all have a better understanding of…
Over the past week, all four of Australia’s biggest banks have reported falls of between 12% to 20% in new home loan applications since the May federal budget. After announcing it would keep interest rates on hold, the Reserve Bank confirmed demand for new home loans has “declined noticeably”. For anyone currently in the market…
Building sustainable wealth from property requires more than selecting the right suburbs and focusing on cash flow yields. Your real financial independence is in managing your daily cash flow. Before a bank will even consider what you might borrow for a mortgage or equity release, they will look closely at your regular living expenses, subscriptions…
The Reserve Bank of Australia has left the cash rate unchanged at 4.35% as it assesses whether the three interest rate rises delivered earlier this year are doing enough to slow the economy and bring inflation back under control. The RBA faces a difficult balancing act. Inflation remains too high and another rate rise is…
Whether you rent, own your home or have never invested a dollar, private housing investment affects You. Every rental home exists because someone chose to invest their savings in housing instead of somewhere else. The biggest mistake in the housing debate is to treat housing as a fixed pie. It is not. Demand alone does…
Aussie households are incredibly lucky when it comes to abundant sunshine. You live in a country that gets blasted with some of the best solar radiation on the planet. For a long time, the game plan was pretty simple. Families would let the panels catch the midday rays and feed whatever was left over back…
Do you want your toilet to reliably flush, whether you’re at home or on holiday anywhere in Australia? Want to help shape decisions on where new schools get built? Or want people experiencing homelessness to get better services than they do now? Australian households are now starting to receive instructions in their letterboxes, explaining how…
Creating a modern office fit-out is a significant project and much more than simply choosing desks and chairs. Today’s efficient workspace should be a lively environment that supports different ways of working, promotes the wellbeing of employees and reflects your organisation’s culture. In this article, you will learn the considerations you need to make to…
Truss and frame engineering is the structural backbone of modern construction, providing the support your roof, floors and walls require. These parts are usually hidden behind drywall and siding, and they are the measure of the safety, longevity and stability of your whole building. In this article, you will learn seven simple but important facts…
