The new financial year has kicked off with a bang for first home buyers! A whopping 45,000 more places have opened up for them under the Home Guarantee Scheme, as well as 5,000 more spots for single parents. Here’s how it could help you buy a home sooner. Home ownership has long been the great Australian dream, but high property prices are making it tough to save a 20% deposit for many young families. That’s where the federal government’s Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) comes in. It gives first home buyers a leg up into the property market even if they

Property prices are expected to keep climbing higher through to mid-2025 – though not everywhere, according to a new report. We reveal where prices are tipped to go up, and where prices are expected to fall. What a crazy financial year it’s been for property prices. Despite a cost of living crunch and high interest rates, home values Australia-wide have soared 8.3% over the past 12 months, according to CoreLogic. Will prices keep heading north? Or can we expect the market to cool at some stage? These are key questions for home buyers who may be weighing up whether now is

Put the party pies on ice and postpone those rate-cut celebrations for a while yet. The much-touted rate cuts we’ve been waiting for may not arrive until 2025. Here’s why rates could be staying higher for longer, and how to take action yourself. June saw the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) keep the cash rate on ice – yet again. Rates haven’t budged since November last year, and with the RBA not due to make another rate call until August, interest rates will remain in a holding pattern for at least two more months. For home owners struggling to manage their

Fresh air, no bumper-to-bumper traffic and more affordable home prices. There’s plenty of appeal in regional living, including a chance to potentially reduce your home loan. The classic tune ‘Home among the gum trees’ is fast becoming a lifestyle anthem for a growing number of Aussies. A surging number of city-slickers are heading to the bush or bay, new Commonwealth Bank research shows. In fact, metro to regional relocations are now 20% higher than pre-Covid. It goes to show that regional towns and cities have a lot going for them. So what’s the appeal? Along with a laidback lifestyle and the chance

You might have seen a headline or two about a particular big bank being at war with brokers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our mission is – and always will be – putting you first. That’s why three in every four borrowers now come to us for help. Borrowers are more spoilt for choice than ever before when it comes to home loans. But who has time to sort through over 100 lenders in the market to pick out a loan that’s suited to your needs? Your mortgage broker does. But for the big end of town, increased competition can

Nan and Pop have always been good for birthday money, but one-in-10 grandparents are taking their generosity to the next level: helping their grandkids buy a first home. Most of us have special memories of pocketing a few treats from Granny and Gramps. But it turns out those small gestures of affection we knew as kids are morphing into something far more valuable than a few sneaky lollies before dinner or a surprise Lego set. Research by Compare the Market shows almost three-quarters of Aussie grandparents are giving their families a financial helping hand. Around 13% are lending money, 9% are