A home loan used to set you up for retirement, but now many Australians face working beyond retirement age or retiring with significant mortgage debt. As home buyers get older and rising house prices and living costs require bigger mortgages, "forever loans" are becoming more common. This shift in how Australians view mortgages requires new strategies like rent-vesting or buying with family or friends, while financially preparing for retirement is essential in this challenging landscape.

Australia’s borrowers have been given another reprieve, with the Reserve Bank of Australia leaving the cash rate on hold for a fifth consecutive board meeting in June 2024. With inflation remaining stubbornly high however, the RBA has retained the option of a further rate hike if needed. If you're considering refinancing your home loan, the process is simpler than you might think. Here’s a closer look at what’s involved in refinancing and how to know when it’s the right time to refinance.

On Sunday, 5 February 2023, our sister company, Harcourts will be hosting the largest property showcase in South East Queensland. Starting at 10am, 100 properties will be auctioned throughout the day, providing a platform for serious sellers to capture the focus of unconditional buyers and achieve premium prices. If you’re serious about selling (or buying), don’t miss the Harcourts’ Auction Festival.

When the hammer comes down on the winning bid, it’s one of the most exhilarating experiences for a home buyer. But knowing what to do next and what’s required is something many home buyers are not sure about. On winning the auction, the buyer is required to pay a deposit – usually 10 per cent of the winning bid – so having the funds on-hand is imperative. In this helpful guide, we’ll explain what you can expect if yours is the winning bid when buying property at auction in Australia.

As Australian household budgets are stretched further by yet another interest rate rise, some homeowners are looking at ways to cut discretionary spending, while others are considering refinancing their home loan and shifting to lenders offering better deals. With further rate rises likely, now may be the right time to revisit spending and saving, and make some small changes to reduce monthly commitments. Here’s how to navigate rising interest rates.

Increased demand for new builds and renovations, combined with ongoing supply chain disruptions and a shortage of building materials, has led to a spike in construction costs across Australia. Homeowners with fixed-price building contracts are having to find the funds to pay for the unexpected additional costs, and are waiting longer for the build to start or to progress. With this trend set to continue, it’s vital those planning a build work closely with a mortgage broker who has experience in construction lending.

An important consideration for many first home buyers is deciding whether to buy a home now or to wait and save a larger deposit. It means weighing up the cost of LMI, and any other fees lenders may charge for low deposit lending, against the potential savings of getting into the property market before house prices rise even further. And that’s a tough decision to make! Now, with a useful comparison tool, that decision may be a little easier.

There’s a lot to think about when viewing a property for the first time, and it’s easy to overlook things or forget to check important items. It helps to have a checklist of the things you need to think about so you don’t forget anything important. Here’s an outline of what to look out for at an open home when buying a property in Australia, along with a handy checklist you can download and take along with you.

Interest rates in Australia are on the way up and understandably that’s a big concern for homeowners. Especially those facing interest rate hikes right before refinancing or settlement. One way to protect against interest rate rises, if you’re preparing to refinance to a new lender or set up a new loan, is to rate lock. Rate locking your fixed interest home loan for a set period of time before your loan application is completed, means you get the interest rate you were offered when you applied rather than what’s available at settlement time.

Interest rate hikes can be bad news for homeowners, but higher mortgage costs can impact renters too as these costs often get passed on by landlords. In some parts of Australia, it may even be cheaper to buy a home than it is to rent. And with tightening rental supply pushing up rents, and house price increases slowing down across Australia, now may be a good time to consider your options to get out of the rental cycle and into your own home.