It was four years ago when the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic. Since that time economic trends, including housing metrics, have been on a roller coaster ride. Although lockdowns and the uncertainty of vaccination programs are well behind us, the legacy of COVID will be with us for a long time yet….
On paper, your investments in stocks, real estate or even cash may look like your greatest assets. While all those things are super important, you have something else that’s even more valuable. It’s the investment called you. Finding ways to increase your value while doing the things you love may be the most important…
Despite pandemics, rising interest rates, and challenging supply issues, the Australian property market remains a remarkably resilient, unyielding force, with two out of every five Australians determined to buy a home within the next five years. A recent Westpac Home Ownership Report reveals a surge in home buying intentions – 44% of Australians plan to purchase…
In an age where financial transactions have largely moved online, the prevalence of financial scams has surged, catching many Australians off guard. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reports that Australians lost a record $3.1 billion to scams in 2022. This is an 80 per cent increase in total losses recorded in 2021. This staggering…
More of us have been in paid work this past year than ever before. A big part of that is because more of us have been able to work from home than ever before. The proportion of Australians in paid work climbed above 64% in May last year and has stayed there since. At the…
As investors, we gain invaluable insights by experiencing various markets and events, and by reflecting on our actions—those we took and those we didn’t. I firmly believe that experience is the key factor in preventing costly investment mistakes. Hence, I dedicate time each year to ponder the lessons provided by the market in the preceding year. These…
Just in case you didn’t know, successful people have just as many failures (in fact probably more) than the average person. Of course, they also get things wrong, mess up and do things they wish they hadn’t done. But when things go wrong they tend to handle the situations differently. Lifehack shares 10 things successful…
What’s ahead for property in 2024? Well, now that we’ve got a few months of the year under our belt it’s clear that many markets around Australia are likely to experience significant growth over the year driven by a confluence of factors that will underpin strong demand for well-located properties. It is now clear that…
What’s ahead for our mortgage rates? We all want them to come down, but when will that happen? In a recent article on news.com.au commentator Tarric Brooker concludes that the timing of rate cuts remains uncertain and the date could easily change. So let’s see what can we expect to happen to interest rates now…
The location of your “great Australian dream” can dramatically alter your wealth-building activities and as such, you must take this into account when developing your investment strategy. Homes are typically not purchased with the sole or dominant reason of building wealth as there are many non-financial, lifestyle factors that influence where we live. However, that…