finance Archives · Australian Loans Group

Commercial Sales Set To Rebound

Posted on 14/11/202327/10/2023 by Laze Spasevski

Commercial sales are set to rebound as transaction activity in the Australian commercial property market appears to be trending up. However, sales activity in 2023 will almost certainly be well down on last year's results. There were $29.2 billion of sales in the office, logistics & industrial, and retail sectors during 2022, according to JLL. Which is considerably higher comp...
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Tax Deadline Nears

Posted on 10/11/202325/10/2023 by Laze Spasevski

As the tax deadline nears, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has reminded taxpayers to lodge their taxes. You may lodge through myGov or engage with a registered tax agent by the October 31 deadline to avoid late lodgment penalties. If you have simple tax affairs, you can lodge online, often in under 30 minutes, through the myGov portal. Most of the information you need will already be p...
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Housing slowdown – Nearing Its End

Posted on 21/04/202321/04/2023 by Laze Spasevski

The housing slowdown may be nearing its end, according to new statistics from CoreLogic. While Australia’s median property price fell 0.1% during February, values then rose in some markets in the four weeks to March 15: Sydney – up 0.8% Melbourne – up 0.2% Perth – up 0.1% Brisbane – unchanged Adelaide – down 0.4% That said, it’s too early to call the bottom of the ma...
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Rise In Construction Costs Slowing Down

Posted on 13/02/202313/02/2023 by Laze Spasevski

Construction costs continue to rise sharply, but the worst is behind us as it appears to be slowing down. Residential construction costs rose 11.9% during 2022, after climbing 7.3% in 2021, according to CoreLogic’s Cordell Construction Cost Index (CCCI). The 2022 result was the largest annual increase on record, apart from the period impacted by the introduction of the GST. However, t...
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SMEs Optimistic About the Future

Posted on 26/01/202324/01/2023 by Laze Spasevski

SMEs are cautiously optimistic about the future, according to the Australian Banking Association's Small and Medium Enterprises Lending Report. The report, which surveyed businesses throughout the country, found an increase in the average value of loans in the year to July: Small business loans rose from $2.9 million to $3.4 million Medium business loans rose from $12.7 million to $...
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Majority of Homebuyers Using Mortgage Brokers

Posted on 24/01/202324/04/2023 by Laze Spasevski

An ever-growing majority of homebuyers are taking out home loans using mortgage brokers, rather than going direct-to-lender. Between July and September 2022, mortgage brokers facilitated 71.7% of all new residential home loans. This is a record share according to the research group Comparator. That compared to 66.9% the year before and 60.1% the year before that. Anja Pannek, the ...
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Borrowers Favour Lower-Rate Variable Loans

Posted on 19/01/202313/01/2023 by Laze Spasevski

Borrowers favour the lower-rate variable loans right now. According to the October 22 data from Australian Bureau of Statistics, only 4% of borrowers fixed their loans (both new loans and refinances). Very few borrowers are currently fixing their home loans – unlike a year earlier when about half of borrowers were doing so. By contrast, 44% of borrowers fixed in October 2021 and 46% in ...
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Borrowers Are Refinancing Their Home Loans

Posted on 17/01/2023 by Laze Spasevski

Enormous numbers of borrowers are refinancing their home loans according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australians refinanced $17.8 billion of mortgages in October. This is not far off the record $18.6 billion of refinancing that occurred in August. It just shows that the past six months have been the six biggest months in refinancing history. Owner-occupie...
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ATO Intends to Collect Tax Debts

Posted on 19/12/202216/12/2022 by Laze Spasevski

The ATO (Australian Taxation Office) has put small businesses on notice that it intends to collect unpaid tax debts and crack down on tax evasion. ATO second commissioner Jeremy Hirschhorn said small businesses were responsible for 65% of the $37 billion in collectible (i.e. not disputed) debt. Mr Hirschhorn said that while the ATO took a relatively relaxed attitude to debt collection during...
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Interest Rates Update

Posted on 09/09/202209/09/2022 by Laze Spasevski

While variable interest rates are continuing to rise, with another 0.50% increase earlier this week, some lenders are actually cutting their fixed rates. Lenders started increasing their variable rates in May, once the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) began increasing its cash rate. However, lenders increased their fixed rates much earlier, in anticipation of future rate hikes and ...
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