If you find yourself in the situation that you are unable to pay your credit card debt balance off each month then there are steps you can take to reduce your interest charges.
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Not all credit cards are created equally. And so it makes it that much harder to decide which credit card offer to choose. There are many factors you sh.....
The Western Australian government has announced plans to help first home buyers by taking an equity stake in their houses. Yesterday WA Premier Alan Carpenter announced a $300 million shared-equity program, where the government will take a 30 to 40 per cent stake in a property and then give the home owner a low deposit loan to buy the rest, and the home owner can then buy the government's share of the property as their finances permit. The First Start program is the first of its kind in Australia, and the means tested program will be offered to 3,000 lower income workers for homes worth up to $365,000. First home buyers have been struggling to enter the WA market, with house prices rising 40 per cent last year.
Building approvals for houses and units in Australia fell 1.9 per cent in December 2006. In the year to December 2006 building approvals fell 1.5 per cent.............Details
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has left interest rates on hold this morning after its first meeting of the year, offering some relief to homebuyers.............Details
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has found that home buyers in parts of Sydney and Melbourne are struggling with increases in loan repayments after three interest rate rises last year and falls in the values of their properties.............Details
Craig Williams, Citigroup analyst, says that St George Bank could miss its mortgage lending targets in first half of the 2007 financial year because of a weak New South Wales economy. ............Details
Australian lenders are fighting to retain or boost their market share, despite evidence of mortgage stress. The major banks are predicting a rebound in mortgage lending this year as fears of further interest rate rises fade.............Details
Yesterday the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced that the official cash rate would remain at 6.25 per cent for February, amid signs that inflationary pressures had peaked and the economy is beginning to slow.............Details
Non-bank lenders are seeking to expand their businesses. Bluestone Group has entered the commercial property market, offering loans to small business owners and professional traders.............Details
Unemployment is at its lowest point in three years, led by the resource economies of Western Australia and Queensland. With joblessness at a 31 year low there are concerns that the tight labour market could put pressure on wages and inflation.............Details
Member's Equity Bank plans to increase its customer base over the next decade, after a surge in home lending and deposits helped push it into profit last year............Details
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released its quarterly statement on monetary policy yesterday, showing that it has lowered its forecast for underlying inflation from 3 per cent to 2.75 per cent by mid 2007.............Details
The Australian Finance Group's (AFG) mortgage index showed that overall mortgage sales in January rose 20 per cent, well above the season's average.............Details
Home loans in Western Australia could soon be the nation's most expensive. Australian Financial Group (AFG) has reported that the gap between the value of the average mortgage in WA and NSW was $14,000 in January, the smallest gap recorded yet.............Details
Australian property investors have been discouraged by a fall in rental yields, according to the latest monetary policy statement from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).............Details
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is concerned about inflation and is closely monitoring the Australian economy for any signs that inflation in increasing.............Details
New superannuation rules are negatively affecting the Australian rental market, as property investors flee the housing market to invest in super.............Details
The New South Wales Department of Fair Trading will investigate a controversial property scheme that capitalises on the property downturn.............Details
Increasing numbers of mortgage delinquencies have prompted Genworth Financial to contact clients directly and implement workout strategies.............Details
Colonial First State, Commonwealth Bank of Australia's (CBA) wealth management division, strongly contributed to the results announced yesterday.............Details
House prices in Melbourne rose by another 8 per cent during 2006, further increasing the affordability barrier preventing first-home buyers from entering the market.............Details
The latest figures from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) show that at the end of last year total household debt was $962 billion.............Details
A report by BIS Shrapnel has found that Sydney's inner city apartment dwellers will be the hardest hit by the worsening rental crisis.............Details
House prices have fallen in almost half of Perth's suburbs, with some dropping more than 8 per cent, according the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia's (REIWA) figures for the December quarter.............Details
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will be carefully watching the tight labour market but economists say an expected 1 per cent increase in wages growth will not be significant enough to force the RBA to raise interest rates.............Details
Prime Minister John Howard is considering rent relief to deal with the tightening rental market, but there are calls for the federal government to leave the $2.2 billion rental assistance scheme alone ............Details
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has announced that it won't hesitate to tighten monetary policy ahead of a federal election, and the next move in interest rates is more likely to be up rather than down.............Details
A surge in the sale of investment properties has been reported by real estate agents, as investors rush to meet the June 30 deadline to make up to $1 million in post-tax contributions to superannuation.............Details
Pay increases in the public sector are helping drive wages growth amid the Reserve Bank of Australia's concerns that higher salaries could create an inflationary risk.............Details
Major ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S & P) has upgraded the credit rating of Australia's four major banks from AA- to AA, a move which is expected to lower the banks' annual funding costs.............Details
Challenger Financial Services, directed by James Packer, has agreed to take a 40 per cent stake in Western Australian lending group Homeloans.............Details
The Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia has mapped out bankruptcies in Sydney for the first time, finding that southwest and western suburbs had the highest increase in personal bankruptcies across all ages.............Details
A survey by the Residential Development Council shows that only 7 per cent of industry experts think that young people will ever own their own home.............Details
Home unit sales in New South Wales have more than halved over the past four years, with only 30,184 units sold last year compared to 63,610 in 2002.............Details
The Western Australian state government's $300 million shared equity scheme has been swamped with registrations from first home buyers desperate to break into the housing market.............Details
St George has launched a Basic Home Loan with a variable interest rate of 7.44 per cent, an establishment fee of $500 and no monthly fees.............Details
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has warned that as many as half a million Australian families are suffering financial stress due to the rising cost of rent and high mortgages.............Details
Basic home loans used to be popular with first home buyers and low income earners but due to improved features they are enjoying a wider popularity.............Details
Increased competition has led to better reverse mortgage rates for consumers. The Senior Australian Equity Release Association of Lenders has released new figures on the cost of reverse mortgages.............Details
Treasurer Peter Costello has ruled out federal help, such as rental assistance, for tenants struggling to cope with rising rents and a lack of properties.............Details
RAMS Home Loans is looking to its franchise network and broker channel to contribute strongly to a forecast growth in profits, defying any slowdown within the mortgage market.............Details
