The popular Home Guarantee Scheme that lets first home buyers get into the market with just a 5% deposit has been expanded sooner than expected. But an unexpected twist means first home buyers may want to bring forward their buying plans. The Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) allows first home buyers to buy with just a 5% deposit – and not pay lenders mortgage insurance. At present, the HGS is only available to first time buyers who meet various conditions around personal income and the price they pay for their home. There are also annual limits on the number of buyers who can

Three rate cuts since February have spurred home owners to take a closer look at their home loan. Turns out plenty have found a loan better suited to their needs elsewhere, with 100,000 home loans refinanced in the past quarter. It’s not every day we do a double-take looking at lending numbers. But it happened this week, with the latest ABS data revealing an astonishing 1.26 million home loans have been refinanced over the past three years. A rise in refinancing kicked off when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) hiked rates across 2022 and 2023. Now that rates are on the way

Borrowers around the country have been delivered a sunnier financial outlook this month after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) today trimmed the cash rate by another 25 basis points to 3.60%. How much could your monthly mortgage repayments decrease? After last month’s unexpected hold, the RBA this month went with market expectations and delivered its third cash rate cut in 2025 in an attempt to ease cost-of-living pressures on Australian families. RBA Governor Michele Bullock said in a statement that the Board unanimously decided to cut the cash rate by 25 basis points as underlying inflation continued to decline back towards

Buying a first home isn’t always easy, and first-timers sometimes miss out on a place they’ve set their heart on. But more than one-in-ten first-time buyers have missed out simply because they didn’t have home loan pre-approval. Buying a first home can be an emotional roller coaster. It’s not unusual to find a property you love, only to lose out. A Finder survey shows three-in-five first home buyers have been beaten to homes – usually because they’ve been outbid by a competing buyer. There’s not a lot you can do about another buyer having deeper pockets. But there are steps you can

Location, location, location. Or should we say: education, education, education. New research shows homes in the catchment areas of sought-after public schools can command six-figure price premiums. Here’s why. Your home can be much more than a roof over your head. It’s also an investment that may build personal wealth and serve as a form of disciplined saving. And a new analysis by Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) shows our homes can also play an unexpected role, such as helping our kids enjoy a decent education. Families pay 6-figure premiums for homes in popular catchment zones Cotality recently looked at property values

There’s a lot to love about buying a brand new home, and sales of recently constructed homes have increased 19% over the last quarter. We look at the pros and cons of buying a new home – and the financial incentives available to new home buyers. Fresh paint, spotless floor coverings and shiny new appliances. It’s easy to see the appeal of newly-built homes. And it turns out a growing number of Australians are choosing new homes. The Housing Industry Association says sales of new detached homes rose 18.8% in the three months to June 2025 compared to the previous quarter. It’s