Borrowing
PROPERTY
Analysts pop bubble speak
JOHN COLLETT With house prices on the move again, so too is talk of a house price bubble. Concern is mostly centred on Sydney, where prices are roaring back to life.
PROPERTY
Find an affordable home and save for it
Mark Bouris Housing affordability for first home buyers is in the news, with properties in Sydney and Melbourne selling for more than many first-timers can afford.
GETTING SETTLED
Markets are hot, but don't be pressured
Residential real estate markets are running hot, with clearance rates at 90 per cent in Sydney and 80 per cent in Melbourne.
ECONOMICS
Won't be first time if US defaults
David Potts For once it's politicians and economists, not the markets, who've been having conniptions about the US defaulting on its debt.
PROPERTY SPECIAL
Bank on getting a foot in the door
David Potts The system is slanted towards buying a home, so if you can't beat it, why not join it?
GETTING STARTED
Solid foundation to super investments
David Potts Every government outfit in town is against you setting up your own super fund to buy an investment property.
Bright ideas for loan savings
PENNY PRYOR Low interest rates are making it a lot easier for you to pay off your home loan.
MORTGAGE RULES
Pay down that debt to get ahead
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon Paying down debt is pretty much the top strategy to building wealth; it's often even better than buying shares or investing in property.
PROPERTY
Ups and downs on the way home
Penny Pryor If you are looking to buy a property, try not to get caught up in the hype at auctions.
INSIGHT
Rise in property prices threatens to grow bubbles
Clancy Yeates Low rates and a buoyant auction market are breathing new life into an age-old debate: are Australian house prices at risk of entering bubble territory?
BORROWING
Information key to securing savings
Mark Bouris It concerns me that many mortgage holders are not responding to the low interest rate.
BORROWING
Making most of low rates
Mark Bouris The reduction of official interest rates to 2.5 per cent is a historic event that raises several questions.
INSIGHT
Big banks think small
Clancy Yeates Although we love complaining about the big banks, satisfaction with them has climbed to almost 80 per cent
RATES
Seduction by deduction can cost you
Mark Bouris I'm concerned this low-interest rate environment has produced a confusing borrowing market.
BORROWING
Judge backs customer's credit card scam
Russian man changed credit card contract, bank failed to read new terms, bank loses in court.
RATES
A quick fix or simply smart?
Penny Pryor It's a good time to consider locking in your mortgage, but there can be drawbacks.
BORROWING
Rate expectations: drums beating for a cut
David Potts It would be a brave Reserve Bank board that didn't cut interest rates at its next meeting on August 6.
BORROWING
Archbishop battles high-interest lenders
Anglican leader has a novel solution to scourge of quick loan firms that charge an annual interest rate of almost 6000%.
BUDGETING
Rise of the rental option
Kate Jones Hiring household items is popular, but watch for hidden costs.
BORROWING
US households borrowed $20bn in May
Consumer borrowing in the US climbed in May by the most in a year as Americans put more purchases on their credit cards and took out more school and automobile loans.