Interest rates news and advice

The interest rate cuts enacted by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) before Christmas helped to reduce home loan arrears during the first quarter of 2009, new figures from Fitch Ratings show.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will refrain from cutting interest rates when it meets later today (June 2nd), despite warnings that the country has entered recession.

Auction rates across the country have hit a level last seen in the boom times of 2007, the latest data shows.

One Sydney punter hopes that the Reserve Bank interest rates remain at their 49-year low after placing a $45,000 bet on the outcome.

Thanks to the combination of low interest rates and first-home buyers grants, there has never been a better time to buy a home, one commentator has claimed.

Australians are taking a keener approach towards money management as the economic crisis rumbles on and interest rates remain low.

At its monthly meeting yesterday (May 5th), the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) decided to hold off on any further interest rate cuts, leaving rates at three per cent.

The interest rate cuts enacted by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) have spurred a flurry of activity in the Australian property market and spurred many people to consider investing in property to let.

With concerns growing about the bad debt soaked up by Australia’s biggest bank, it is becoming increasingly unlikely that any further interest rate cuts from the Reserve Bank will trickle through to home loan interest rates, the Sydney Morning Herald warns.

Sales of new homes rose for the third straight month in March, the latest stats from the Housing Industry Association (HIA) show.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will introduce more interest rate cuts before 2009 is through, CreditSuisse has insisted.

Thousands of consumers have seen the interest rate cut come too late, as new figures from the Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia (ITSA) show an increase in bankruptcies and insolvencies.

Although those looking to compare home loans may have welcomed the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA’s) decision to cut the cash rate by 25 basis points, consumers stuck on fixed-rate home loan deals may have met the news with a groan.

The number of families facing home loan payment stress has fallen by 300,000 since the Reserve Bank of Australia’s flurry of interest rate cuts began in September.

Would-be investors are lining up to secure a new low-interest home loan deal to make some cash from record rental costs and the lowest interest rates seen in decades.

With Reserve Bank interest rates at their lowest level since 1964, many Australians are mulling over switching from a fixed to a variable home loan, overpaying on their mortgage to go debt-free more quickly, or even investing in additional property.

Kevin Rudd’s first-home buyers grant may be enough to allow the country to sidestep a recession, one financial expert reckons.

The University of Queensland has launched a new quiz designed to test the nation’s financial literacy by asking questions about interest rates and credit cards.

Home loan brokerage firm Mortgage Choice has announced that its profits shrunk 22 per cent in the last six months of the year as the housing market tanked.

This year is shaping up to be something of a shocker for the housing industry, despite the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA’s) efforts to cut interest rates and support house prices.

The number of multimillion-dollar properties that are going up for sale because their owner couldn’t afford the home loan payment has shot up in recent months, new figures show.

Wizard Home Loans has finally exited the realm of mortgage lending after Aussie finally brought up its book today (February 24th).

Members of the opposition have been haranguing prime minister Rudd for his failure to support Aussies who are locked into fixed-rate home loans.

Australian consumer watchdog Choice has thrown its weight behind a new policy from the CBA that will tighten up home loan approval criteria.

A desire to get the latest celebrity look has left many Brits bank account balances looking less than healthy, one expert has pointed out.