More than four out of every five new home loans in Australia are now arranged through a broker. Mortgage brokers facilitated a record 81.6% of new residential lending in the June 2026 quarter, according to Cotality data commissioned by the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia – up from 53.9% just eight years ago. That’sContinue reading “Why More Australians Than Ever Are Using a Mortgage Broker”
Category Archives: Property & Finance
Listings Are Up and Prices Are Down: What It Means If You’re Buying
If you’ve felt like there’s more to choose from lately, you’re not imagining it. National property listings were 12.8% higher in August than a year earlier, according to SQM Research, while Cotality reports that 93% of capital-city suburbs recorded a price decline over winter. Put those two together and buyers are in a genuinely strongerContinue reading “Listings Are Up and Prices Are Down: What It Means If You’re Buying”
Rental Yields Hit a Seven-Year High – What It Actually Means for Investors
Australia’s national gross rental yield has climbed to 3.79%, its highest level since September 2019, according to Cotality’s latest Home Value Index. It’s the kind of headline that gets forwarded around investor group chats – but before you go putting an offer in, it’s worth understanding exactly what’s driving it, and what it doesn’t tellContinue reading “Rental Yields Hit a Seven-Year High – What It Actually Means for Investors”
Should You Prepare for Another Rate Rise? Here’s What’s at Stake
The Reserve Bank hands down its next cash rate decision on 29 September, and it’s not the kind of meeting you can safely tune out of. The cash rate currently sits at 4.35%, having already climbed 0.75 percentage points this year across three separate moves. Whether it goes up again this month is still unknown,Continue reading “Should You Prepare for Another Rate Rise? Here’s What’s at Stake”
Is Your Offset Account Actually Saving You Money? ASIC Says Don’t Assume
An offset account is one of those mortgage features that’s supposed to just quietly do its job in the background. Keep money in it, and the bank reduces the interest calculated on the equivalent portion of your loan. That’s the whole appeal – set it up once, and let it work for you. Except aContinue reading “Is Your Offset Account Actually Saving You Money? ASIC Says Don’t Assume”
Five Ways to Pay Off Your Mortgage Sooner (Without Needing a Windfall)
Paying off a mortgage years ahead of schedule can save a genuinely significant amount of interest over the life of a loan. The catch is that most strategies for doing it assume you’ve got spare cash lying around to throw at the problem – and with interest rates still elevated and household budgets stretched, that’sContinue reading “Five Ways to Pay Off Your Mortgage Sooner (Without Needing a Windfall)”
Could Cutting Red Tape Actually Fix Housing Supply? Here’s What’s Being Proposed
One of the more persistent questions in Australia’s housing conversation is whether we’re building enough homes, in the right places, fast enough. The Productivity Commission thinks a big part of the answer lies in regulation – and it’s put forward some fairly significant ideas for how that could change. Worth saying upfront, because it mattersContinue reading “Could Cutting Red Tape Actually Fix Housing Supply? Here’s What’s Being Proposed”
Australia’s Property Downturn Is Widening – But It Depends Which End of the Market You’re In
If you’ve been watching the property headlines lately, you’ve probably noticed the mood has shifted. According to Cotality’s July data, the national median dwelling value fell 0.7% for the month – the steepest monthly drop since December 2022 – and prices are down 1.9% over the quarter. It’s the fourth consecutive monthly decline since theContinue reading “Australia’s Property Downturn Is Widening – But It Depends Which End of the Market You’re In”
Inflation Just Eased More Than Expected – What It Means for Your Mortgage
It’s been a bumpy year for interest rates, but there’s genuinely good news to report. Inflation data released today shows annual CPI eased to 3.8% in the year to June 2026, down from 4.0% in May – and it eased by more than most economists were expecting. If you’ve felt the last few rate risesContinue reading “Inflation Just Eased More Than Expected – What It Means for Your Mortgage”
You Might Have More Equity Than You Think – Here’s Why That Matters for Refinancing
A lot of homeowners assume their equity position hasn’t moved much lately, especially with all the talk about a cooling property market. For plenty of people, that assumption is out of date. According to PropTrack data, house prices rose in 85% of suburbs across Australia over the past 12 months, and unit prices rose inContinue reading “You Might Have More Equity Than You Think – Here’s Why That Matters for Refinancing”