Will the Housing Bubble Burst?
While Melbourne’s residential market has recovered from the effects of the global financial crisis, 2010 is shaping up to be an interesting year.
Let’s consider factors influencing activity and prices. To date, we have had six interest-rate increases. We have an increasing population; there is a shortage of dwellings for them and the vacancy rate has been below 2 per cent for the past five years. Read more
Super – Any real returns
It’s hard not to be disappointed by the returns on superannuation in recent years but take heart, writes Annette Sampson.
The best balanced super funds reported returns of 10 per cent or more in the past financial year. But if you feel like you’ve been treading water, rather than building a healthy nest egg for retirement, you wouldn’t be far wrong. The average fund is still in the red over the past three years and has barely beaten inflation over the past five. Read more
Home Loans on the Up
The number of new owner-occupied home loans rose 1.9 per cent in May, the first increase in eight months. Lending to housing investors continued its recent surge, rising 2.6 per cent in value, and has now swelled by 35 per cent since early last year. Read more
Home loans drop to 9 year low
Demand for new home loans fell to a nine-year low in April as rising interest rates dampen enthusiasm for housing. Finance commitments for owner-occupied housing fell 1.8 per cent in April, seasonally adjusted, to 47,669, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today. Read more
Australian Stocks Slding
THE stockmarket was sharply lower by late afternoon and the weak Australian dollar remained vulnerable as investors reeled amid fears about the risks of slowdown in the global economy.
Markets in Asia were also not immune to the steep falls on Wall Street last Friday, as investors sought shelter in the yen and the US dollar as well as government bonds in countries that were considered by financial markets to have little exposure to the Europe’s widening debt crisis. Read more
Most of salary goes towards debt
What are these? More than 40pc of Australians spend more than half their monthly salary on paying off debt. MORE than 40 per cent of Australians spend around half their monthly income repaying mortgages, credit cards or personals loans, a new survey has found. Read more
Sydney suburbs ready to go boom
SOME Sydney suburbs will have their populations double or even quadruple in just 25 years, official NSW documents reveal, as the city hurtles towards a population of six million people by 2036. Read more
First Homeowners Set Record
As expected first home buyers have set a record last year for the largest ever increase of purchasing homes. With the government boosted grant it has been no surprise that many first home buyers took the opportunity to get on the property ladder. However as with everything there is no doubt with that 2010 will see the biggest drop in home buyers since records began.
Get credit for being a good repayer
If you are looking for personal finance and like the majority of Australians finding it hard then you might be in for a change. Reports in the media suggest that the way your credit score is compiled and viewed by credit agencies and leading lenders is about to change. Read more
Rentals Prices to go up in 2010
You have probably realised without talking or mentioning to anyone that rental prices have stayed put in the last 12 months. This is a big change from 2008 when rental prices suddenly shot up. Report from the Australian Property Monitors are indicating that rental prices in 2010 are on the way back up. Read more