March
There is a third option for helping your kids buy a home
Parents considering helping their kids into the property market must weigh up the risks and problems of each method of assistance.
February
Which suburbs have become affordable after the rate cut?
A number of desirable suburbs that were previously unaffordable are now within reach for high-income and median-income earners, according to CoreLogic.
Major parties’ housing policies will trap young buyers in lemons
A glut of entry-level housing could deny first home buyers the sort capital gains that made their parents wealthy.
Home in ‘last affordable frontier’ goes for $760,000
Price growth may be slowing in this city, but some market niches are booming – precisely because other levels have priced buyers out.
December 2024
What the average first home buyer looks like (according to the banks)
The country’s biggest lenders have offered a glimpse into their lending habits in the midst of a debate over whether to ease rules for younger borrowers.
November 2024
Tweak lending rules to tilt the scales for first home buyers
Reforms to prudential regulation will be a solution for many Millennials and Gen Zs missing out on the Australian dream.
Upgraders dominate the housing market as prices slow
People seeking bigger and better properties have edged out first home aspirants as the most active buyers for the first time this year, valuers say.
The suburbs where apartment price growth is blitzing houses
Unit values are rising faster than houses in almost two out of three suburbs nationwide as housing affordability worsens.
High-income households locked out of half of the housing market
The latest data shows an income of $172,000 is only enough to buy half of the homes on offer in Australia. Four years ago, it would buy 80 per cent of the market.
TikTok video sells $523,000 unit, avoiding fees for official listing
A social media walk-through gave potential buyers a real feel for this apartment, without the gloss – or cost to vendor – of advertising on a property portal.
October 2024
Banking regulator rejects calls to cut home loan interest rate buffer
APRA chairman John Lonsdale has hit back at the Australian Banking Association at a parliamentary hearing on Friday.
CBA, Westpac split with other big banks and back borrowing rules
The country’s largest home lenders say that the current buffers, which make it more difficult for first home buyers to access loans, are a prudent safety net.
Calls to reduce 3pc home loan bank buffer test
The Australian Banking Association says more people will be able to access the property market if the prudential regulator is more flexible.
Mortgage brokers go to war with NSW over tax grab
Moves by the state to levy payroll tax on aggregators connecting mortgage brokers with lenders will force some of them to quit the industry.
Why nobody’s biting in these buyers’ markets
Buying conditions have dramatically improved, but buyers are shunning markets that are oversupplied with investor units from the last boom.
September 2024
Why Australia’s home-building outlook just got worse
As the country struggles to increase production of new housing, the minister responsible says the federal government will play a more active role.
Why spring property is turning in favour of Sydney buyers
For the first time in years, house buyers have an edge. The fear or missing out has eased with prices moderating in Sydney and falling In Melbourne.
August 2024
The $1m apartment downsizers wouldn’t touch
It had stairs – lots of stairs – faced south and needed a ton of work. But first home buyers fought hard for it.
The Sydney suburbs where rents are falling
Asking rents have fallen in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. It’s not the end of the rental crisis but could mean the worst increases are over.
Vendor goes for ‘bird in hand’ to sell terrace for $1.43m
In a market with two camps of buyers, those on the rebound are acting faster than those thinking the market might slow more.