The weekly recap of mortgage, home loan and housing news in Australia.
The top stories for the week ending 16/09/07:
What do Australians think about money?
UnderstandingMoney.gov.au
The Financial Literacy Foundation, headed by Paul Clitheroe, was created in early 2006 aiming to help Australians to improve their financial decision-making skills and from all reports has been well received. Apart from numerous resources, information and guides at the website the Foundation has just commissioned a survey of 7,500 Australians aged 12 to 75 to build a better understanding of how we think about and manage money. A PDF report is available via the link above.
Home loan predators targeting vulnerable
The Daily Telegraph
Justin Vallejo reports on the Fujitsu Consulting report commissioned by Wizard which shows that almost 40,000 homeowners have fallen victim to “predatory” lending practices such as excessive and hidden fees and high interest rates. The report also found that females were more likely to be targeted for predatory behavior – particularly from mortgage brokers.
Building a golden nest egg
The Advertiser
The Advertiser (SA paper) put together a panel of finance experts/planners to answer some questions on retirement including Commonwealth Bank senior financial planner Janet Webber, Eastwoods certified financial planner Michael Schluter, Financial Planning Association SA chapter chairman Kerrin Falconer, Hillross financial planner and Plan 4 Financial Services director Phil Eley, KeyInvest managing director Ian Campbell and Omega SeniorCare managing director Bill McClurg. Shame the article wasn’t a bit longer!
AFG Mortgage Index Reports
AFG
The bi-annual AFG (Australian Finance Group) Mortgage Index shows Fixed Rate home loans near record levels, with 24.6 per cent of all mortgages sold in January on a fixed, rather than variable rate, an indication of concern over possible future interest rate rises. According to the index Australia-wide, the average home loan now stands at $307,448.
Reports are available in PDF:
National – NSW – QLD – SA – VIC – WA
Rebate powers up solar industry
Geelong Advertiser
Not directly related to mortgage although certainly related to home ownership costs a story by Alison McAdam reports on successful take up of solar rebates introduced by the Federal Government’s Greenhouse Office.
US Mortgage Market
US Economy Headed for Recession as Housing Bubble Bursts
Daily Reckoning
The Australian site, Daily Reckoning, reports on the fears that many seem to hold at the moment that the US economy may be heading for recession driven by the sub-prime mortgage woes.
Greenspan Sees Political Pressure on Fed as Inflation Picks Up
Bloomberg.com
The US Federal Reserve may need to double its benchmark interest rate to at least 10 percent by 2030 to contain inflation, sparking a political showdown that could challenge its independence, former Chairman Alan Greenspan said.
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- Queensland floods and mortgage payments
- Mortgage and money resolutions for 2011
- Refinance your loan or keep paying through retirement?