Jim Chalmers has insisted the government’s “number one priority” is providing cost of living relief to households amid fears of another rate rise on Tuesday. The Treasurer appeared on Sunrise on Tuesday morning where he was pressed by host Natalie Barr about what he was doing for families who were crying out for help. She …
The economic tide is turning. It’s too early to call the end of interest rate rises – last week’s inflation figure was still too high – but it’s vital that you don’t make an desperate and expensive mistake and fix your mortgage rate. Let me explain why using the last big interest-rate peak as an example. Back in 2007-2008, official interest rates surged and …
The Reserve Bank board will be stripped of its power to set interest rates and replaced by a board of monetary policy experts under the biggest shake-up to Australia’s economic policy settings in a generation. Treasurer Jim Chalmers will on Thursday release the independent review of the RBA, which recommends that the current board focus …
The biggest shake-up in a generation: RBA board to lose rate setting powers Read More »
The RBA might have paused its carnival of rate hikes this month but that’s no consolation for anyone with a big mortgage and a variable rate home loan.Even before the April decision, they’d increased the cost of an average mortgage by over $12,000 a year and a $1 million mortgage was up by around $20,000.That …
Nearly 900,000 Aussies could be in for bill shock when their cheap pandemic fixed-rate home loan expires by the end of the year. Hundreds of thousands of Australian homeowners breathed a sign of relief on Tuesday when the Reserve Bank (RBA) opted not to slug households with an 11th consecutive interest rate rise. The decision …
How to ease the impending pain of the ‘mortgage cliff’ Read More »
Rapid interest rate rises have spurred a refinancing boom but many borrowers are still paying the price for their complacency. Almost a quarter of all borrowers are paying 6.5 per cent or more on their variable rate loans, based on Canstar modelling, which is 1.81 per cent higher than the cheapest loan rate. For these …
Complacent mortgage holders stung by higher rates Read More »
Commonwealth Bank has increased interest rates on its digital Unloan mortgage by more than the Reserve Bank’s latest quarter of a percentage point policy move. Rates were pushed up by 0.3 percentage points for new and existing customers, in response to investor pressure to be more disciplined on loan pricing. The higher rates on Unloan …
CBA delivers 0.3pc home loan increase for Unloan customers Read More »
Lenders are offering cashback deals of up to $10,000 to entice refinancing borrowers to move their mortgage but experts are calling on Australians to do the maths before making the leap. Cashback deals and introductory rates can “hide” the real cost of loans, says RateCity head of research Sally Tindall. The RateCity database shows 33 lenders offering …
Banks are offering up to $10,000 to switch loans. But is it worth it? Read More »
House prices have almost stopped falling. Who would have thought it? In the first three weeks of February, the Corelogic house price “five cities” series has fallen by just 0.1 per cent. If the momentum is sustained, prices are likely to be slightly down or even flat in March, which will be a clear signal …
OPINION: The fall in house prices is coming to an end Read More »
Aussies are being hit with higher home loan repayments as interest rates rise, but there’s one move that could save you thousands. Home loans under 4 per cent have left the building and there are now just six loans under 4.5 per cent, Canstar found. That’s compared to a whopping 719 loans available 12 months ago. But …
