The central bank has decided to keep the cash rate unchanged this month and has opened the door for possible future cuts. The decision was expected, with all 15 economists surveyed last week by AAP predicting the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would keep rates on hold at 4.75 per cent on Tuesday. The central [...]

According to the manufacturers cold water laundry detergents wash most clothes perfectly well. Most if us, however, still cling on to our mum’s advice about using warm water to wash our clothes.  However in the process we use up valuable energy and contribute to carbon emissions.  And remember, you don’t need a carbon tax to [...]

It’s not just houses among gum trees on ¼ acre blocks under threat from the supposed death of the Australian Dream; a report shows man’s best friend is also victim to a shift in where and how we live. Dog and cat ownership is down across Australia, according to a report from the Australian Companion [...]

Top tips to help mortgage holders avoid budget blowouts School holidays often impact Australian families juggling additional entertainment costs and their regular financial commitments. Many parents rely on credit for unplanned expenses and may not be aware that there are simple ways to take control of holiday cash flow headaches. Home loan features, such as [...]

It’s a little worrying to find out that for those who live in cities or in the suburbs the air inside our homes and offices is actually more polluted than outside.  But help is at hand – and it comes in the form of the trusty house plant.  A study being conducted at the University [...]

A FRESH round is likely to begin in the mortgage price war with Commonwealth Bank pledging to beat any advertised rate among its three big rivals. The pledge has hallmarks of the ”unbeatable” campaign launched by National Australia Bank in New Zealand, a move that spurred on home lending but crunched margins among banks. The [...]

There’s good news for house hunters with lower mortgage rates and higher wages helping to improve affordability even as house prices edged higher. A separate report, meanwhile, shows that people are staying put longer, underscoring how the property market has cooled in recent years. The Housing Industry Association-Commonwealth Bank housing affordability index rose by 0.8 [...]

Borrowers’ uptake of fixed interest rate home loans rose by less than one percent of approvals over August despite lenders introducing large reductions to the cost of their fixed term loans, according to Australia’s largest independently-owned mortgage broker. Fixed rates accounted for 14.1% of Mortgage Choice’s home loan approvals last month, up only slightly from [...]

The Reserve Bank has decided to keep interest rates on hold, despite fears of the Australian economy struggling outside the mining sector. With instability in the European markets and concerns over a double-dip recession in the US, the RBA decided to keep official interest rates at 4.75 percent. RateCity CEO Damian Smith said the decision [...]

RP Data – Rismark Home Value Index Release While dwelling values in Australia’s combined capital cities declined by a seasonally adjusted (s.a.) 0.6% in the month of July, and regional markets fell by a similar 0.7% (s.a.), homes in Sydney (+0.1% s.a.), Darwin (+0.6% s.a.) and Canberra (+1.9% s.a.) managed to produce small capital gains. [...]

Next time you put your old newspaper into the recycling, spare a thought for your car. An article in earth911.com  talks about some very clever people at Tulane University in New Orleans who have discovered a new bacterial strain that can convert paper into butanol, a biofuel that can be used as a substitute for [...]

Householders are being warned to watch out for scammers cold calling purporting to sell green products, or even offering them for free thanks to “rebates” in an effort to elicit funds or individuals’ bank account details.The warning comes after earlier this month residents in northern Victoria received phone calls offering free solar panels thanks to [...]

A week ago experts were warning interest rates were going up. Now lenders are cutting them.Sydney-based banks – Commonwealth, Westpac and St George – led the pack yesterday reducing their interest rates on fixed-term loans.The fixed-term rates offered by these lenders are now well below the average discount variable rates which rise and fall with [...]

The Federal Government aims to introduce, by as soon as next year, mandatory energy star ratings for homes being sold or rented out.Under the favoured system, vendors and landlords would have to pay about $200 to have their property assessed, with a total cost to homeowners and property investors of $1.1 billion over the next [...]

Reality TV shows about DIY renovating are BIG at the moment! The Block, Top Designs and The Renovators are all ratings winners. These programs have an uncanny ability to draw us in night after night until we feel just as fretful and exhausted as the quirky contestants themselves. But we just can’t get enough!So how [...]