If past Olympic Games are anything to go by, hosting the 2032 Olympic Games will stimulate the host city’s economic recovery and create thousands of jobs for locals. What’s more, off the back of major infrastructure being planned ahead of the games, economists are predicting a significant rise in house values across Queensland’s south-east corridor, with a number of property hot spots already being identified.

For many Australians, the key to a comfortable retirement lies in being mortgage-free. Yet many homeowners struggle to pay back their mortgage ahead of retirement, while some even end up with a bigger loan than when they started. If you’re working towards being mortgage-free, there are a few strategies that can help you get there. In this guide, we outline 3 steps to being mortgage-free.

Mortgage stress. That’s the term used to describe the financial stress felt by those homeowners who devote more than 30 per cent of their income to paying a mortgage. Those dealing with mortgage stress may be struggling financially, finding it-increasingly harder to make ends meet, living from pay check to pay check. If you’re facing a similar situation, here’s a useful guide to recognizing mortgage stress, and some ways to help you tackle it.

Tens of millions of Australians are currently affected by the extended lockdown restrictions in New South Wales and Victoria, many of whom will be unable to work or earn an income during lockdown. Along with a host of Government support packages targeting those businesses impacted by a loss of earnings, lenders are stepping up to assist their customers affected by tightened lockdown restrictions. Read on to find out what support may be available to you.

As Australia continues to deal with a resurgence of COVID-19 cases across the country, Government has announced an increase in the COVID-19 Disaster Payments for those affected by Commonwealth-declared COVID-19 hotspots. For those outside the declared hotspots, who may still be affected by lockdown restrictions, states and territories are also providing financial assistance. Here’s a brief synopsis of the support you may be entitled to.

On 28 July 2021, federal government, in conjunction with NSW and Victoria state governments, announced that it would be extending new support packages to businesses impacted by extended lockdowns. And more recently, South Australia and Queensland state governments have also offered support. If your business has been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, read on to find a brief snapshot of the financial assistance or other types of relief you may be eligible for.

Personal finance is full of rules of thumb about saving, spending, paying off debt, and budgeting. These well-known financial guidelines help us apply proven methods for saving, investing, buying a home and even planning for retirement. They can be useful shortcuts for making quick calculations and decisions about finance. In this article, we’ll look at 3 financial rules of thumb that we believe are worth incorporating into personal finance decisions.

Living through a pandemic has changed our view on many things. From wanting a better work life balance and more focus on health, wellness and exercise, to a greater desire to learn more and the need to connect online.

But it also changed how we live, with flexible working arrangements helping turn long-term dreams of escaping to the country into reality. Holiday rental giant, Airbnb, has responded by changing the way it works, while real estate agents across Australia are already reporting significant spikes in demand for properties in rural areas.

Here’s a closer look at how COVID-19 has changed the way we live.

Over the past year and a bit, our lives have changed irrevocably. Dealing with a pandemic – and the resulting economic and social fallout – has dominated much of our energy and attention. But importantly, the lessons we’ve learnt over the time spent in lockdown and during the pandemic could pay off for years to come. We asked three Mortgage Express brokers to share some of their learnings. Here’s what they said.

To help more Australians into their own home, the Victorian government recently announced investment that will fund a stamp duty concession of up to 50 per cent for residential property contracts from 25 November 2020 until 30 June 2021. In New South Wales, a proposal to change stamp duty was included in the budget, designed to help stimulate the economy after the COVID-19 recession. Read on to find out what these changes are and how they could impact home buyers in these regions.