Stamp duty, rent prices, super: This week’s best banking news

• Stamp duty paused for first homebuyers in NSW 
• Rent prices continue to drop across Aussie cities 
• Well-performing super funds in 2020 
• A cashless society: 70% of Aussies are opposed 
• How the new and used vehicle market looks this winter 
• Comfortable with money talk? ME says more Aussies are! 

All in this week’s best banking news recap: editor’s pick. 

NSW first homebuyers bid farewell to stamp duty … for now

In a recent announcement, the NSW government has said it will temporarily freeze stamp duty for first home buyers purchasing newly-built homes. The initiative is part of an attempt by the state to boost the construction sector, a major part of its plan for economic recovery. 

The changes will be effective from Saturday, 1 August, and will bump up the current stamp duty threshold from $650,000 to $800,000. In addition, stamp duty discounts will also apply to homes up to $1 million. 

According to NSW Treasurer, Dominic Perrottet, these changes will assist 6,000 Aussie first homebuyers. In fact, he says that on a new $800,000 home new property hunters could save up to $31,335 in stamp duty. 

Unfortunately, first homebuyers looking to buy existing houses and apartments will not be eligible for the exemption. It is designed for those purchasing newly-built homes and will be in place until August 2021. 

Read full article: NSW pauses stamp duty for first home buyers for some words from NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and to find out who will benefit the most from this change. 

Aussie rental prices continue to fall across major cities  

The median rent price across Aussie major cities dropped again in June, according to property research firm CoreLogic. 

Its latest data revealed that rent value across the country decreased by 0.3% over the month of June, and 0.5% over the entire June quarter. 

Aussie capital cities saw the steepest decline as rents reduced by 0.7% over the June quarter. Notably, Hobart was the hardest hit with a drop of 2.3%, while Sydney came in second place with a 1.3% decrease. 

On the other hand, rents in regional areas across the country increased by 0.2% over the last three months.   

Read full article: Property market: Median rent prices take a hit in major cities and check out what CoreLogic’s head of research Australia, Eliza Owen said about the latest numbers. 

Do you have a well-performing super fund in 2020? Let’s find out…

The results are in! Industry research group SuperRatings has unveiled the strongest performing Aussie super funds. 

Through their SR50 Balanced Index, SuperRatings weighs up balanced super options for the major 50 funds in Australia. 

This year, the numbers showed that Suncorp has been performing the best demonstrating returns of 3.8%. Over the same 12 month period, BUSSQ came in second with returns of 2.5% and Australian Ethical Super third at 2.4%. The estimated median return for balanced super options currently sits at -1.2%. 

But these numbers don’t include smaller funds that are without long-term return reports. With the newer options included, Future Super took out first, second and third place for its Balanced Index (5.52% growth), Renewables Plus (5.26% growth) and Balanced Impact (5.21% growth), respectively. 

Want to know which super funds performed well over the past decade? In SuperRatings’ ten-year assessment, AustralianSuper, UniSuper and Hostplus came out as the top three funds. 

Read full article: How is your super performing in 2020? for insights from co-founder of Future Super, Kirstin Hunter. 

Aussies use less cash but 70% aren’t keen going completely cashless 

New research from MyState Bank has shown that 68% of Aussies are using less cash since the pandemic began. But would a completely cashless society be taking it too far? 

MyState Bank says yes. 

The recent stats revealed that there has been a 32% reduction in ATM withdrawals over the last 12 months. Plus, 67% of Australians reported that they use less cash during this ongoing period of COVID-19 and foresee themselves doing so in the future. 

But it also showed that seven in ten people (70%) aren’t ready for a completely cashless society. Many are concerned about extra merchant fees attached to cashless payments, while others fear the ramifications of network outages. 

Read full article: Australians shun cash in 2020, but 70% still oppose a cashless society for more stats from the RBA’s latest Consumer Payments Survey.

Aussie vehicle market: A mid-2020 snapshot

In recent months, both the new and used car market have made a slight comeback after hitting COVID-19 period lows. 

When it comes to new cars it’s all about sales. Fresh stats from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) demonstrated a growth in new car sales over June, with 110,234 vehicles sold. 

While this number is 6.4% less than the same time last year, it’s by far the strongest result since the pandemic started. Earlier in the year, sales dropped by 17.9% in March, 48.5% in April and 35.3% in May. 

And used cars? According to Moody Analytics and Datium Insights Australian, used car prices climbed by 10.6% in May 2020 and are set to stay. This is after a 12% drop over March and April. 

Read full article: Car loans: What the new and used vehicle market looks like this winter to check out where new and used car loan rates sit now 

Let’s talk money! Aussies more comfortable to chat about their finances

In a new survey released by ME, it revealed that half of all Aussies are having more money conversations than they used to. 

Why, you ask? Well, stats showed that 71% of money-talkers attribute their newly found willingness to have a yarn to the financial effects of COVID-19. 

The most popular topics included savings (68%), household spending (53%) and bills (51%), while selling/purchasing property and debt remained an uncomfortable area for many. 

Meanwhile, 28% of people chatted about the Government’s JobKeeper and JobSeeker payment schemes. 

Read full article: Money talks: Aussies more comfortable talking finances, says ME and see who Aussies are turning to to talk money. 

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