Home loans
What life is like in Melbourne’s most mortgage-stressed suburb
Home owners are feeling the pinch, picking up extra shifts at work, cutting back on holidays and dipping into savings to keep up with repayments.
- by Alexandra Middleton
Latest
Exclusive
Interest rates
The newest culture war battleground: Australian house prices
As house prices ease, the Coalition is accusing the government of starting a culture war on home owners. Labor says Liberal plans will push up interest rates.
- by Shane Wright
Opinion
Opinion
Five ways to get a leg up on the property ladder (including one new one)
The Help to Buy legislation passed parliament this week, giving first home buyers five feasible ways to get started.
- by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
Perspective
Property prices
What is considered ‘affordable’ housing – and who decides?
We accept the constant calls from politicians at every level for more affordable housing, without a nationally agreed upon standard or definition.
- by Courtney Kruk
‘Like going to a casino’: More home buyers turn to risky strategy
Home buyers are showing fresh signs of eagerness to purchase, especially if they think any interest rate cut will push up prices.
- by Sue Williams
Relax lending rules to boost mortgage competition: Bendigo CEO
Bendigo’s new chief says rules that require banks to test if a customer could handle a 3 percentage point interest rate rise are “not good for competition”.
- by Sumeyya Ilanbey
‘Not asking enough’: Four ways Perth homeowners are underselling
One property strategist says Perth homes are underselling in up to 70 per cent of cases.
- by Claire Ottaviano
Buy a home or invest in super? The dilemma facing older renters
For those contemplating taking on a mortgage in midlife, buying a home is not always the best move.
- by Dominic Powell
The suburb where I grew up was dubbed ‘the ghetto’. I didn’t tell friends where I lived
Our feelings about the family home we grew up in can be complicated. For me, it’s joy, embarrassment and grief all at once.
- by Shona Hendley
How - and why - it just got even harder to buy a home in Australia
Would-be home buyers have been hit by a lose-lose situation since interest rates began to rise and future cuts may not act as previously expected.
- by Jim Malo and Tawar Razaghi
Opinion
Interest rates
Play the rate cycle right, and you could save $242,700 on your mortgage
The odds are slim for a Melbourne Cup Day rate cut, but economists are betting on a fall by February. Here’s how you can make the most of it.
- by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon