Money Hacker Australia's Personal Finance Blog
It is no secret that Australia and New Zealand, sometimes referred to as Trans-Tasman relations because the countries are on opposite sites of the Tasman Sea, are extremely close when it comes to trading and working with one another. In World War I and World War II New Zealanders fought alongside Australians and economic integration continues to unite the two countries. It only makes sense that talk of a Trans-Tasman economic union would arise. Or does it?
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Building a house can be exciting because you have choices. You get to pick the colour of your house, the style, the location, and little things such as counter tops, cabinets, and flooring. There was likely always something that you didn’t like about your home, so building a new house seems like a great way to get exactly what you want. While this may be true, getting what you want by building a new house doesn’t always come easy. Or cheap.
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A charitable trust protects assets and facilitates growth. A trustee manages and distributes the income earned to any named beneficiaries. A trust may be established through a will or during a lifetime. Philanthropy organisations support private initiatives for public good. Most private donors give money to foundations. The foundations distribute the money to other organisations or individuals who meet the qualifications of the foundation.
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A managed fund is a sophisticated investment ‘vehicle’ that revolves around a specific financial goal or stated objective. Professional fund administrators actively manage the portfolio with the intent of capturing yield, capital gains or both.
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Did your house just get bigger? As this infographic from Will from Mortgage Choice shows (for those who can afford to buy Australia’s high cost housing) the average floor size is set to continue rising to 243.6 m2.
This infographic details the house (by floor area) and household size (people per household) trends in Australia in comparison to the rest of the world. What was highlighted was the fact that only recently had household sizes increased (possibly for the first time since European settlement) due to us using our houses (and excess spare rooms) more effectively or due to housing costs becoming unaffordable – forcing Gen Y’s to stay at home for longer periods in the family home. In terms of living space, the average is getting bigger with land lots shrinking over time. There is also a growing trend of building a home to cover as much of the land lot (as permissable by council regulations) with smaller backyards and open space in comparison to historical past. Homes in the USA were traditionally the largest, but Australia has now overtaken them with the average floor area of a new home being 243.6m2. Interestingly, Australians continue to build even larger homes during the GFC while our American counterparts reduced their home sizes which may reflect our love of our “McMansions” or our resilience of our economy in comparison to the world.
In terms of construction costs of a new home, we have seen an increase over the years mainly due to inflation. Advancements in construction methods and technology has allowed us to build a home for cheaper, more thermal efficient and at a lower price than the past. However, this has not reduced the affordability of homes with Australia having one of the most unaffordable housing in the world. This re-enforces the issue that cost of materials and labour is not the driving force of rising house prices as it is relatively cheap to add an extra 10sqm to a new home which will only cost a few thousand dollars as opposed to purchasing a larger land lot. This is a driving motivator for new home builders to “build larger”, pushing up the national average in house size.
Gen Y’s have shown to have the mindset of saving more than their previous generations – contrary to popular belief that they are more liberal with their spending. We are already seeing, and will continue to see a growing population staying at the family home longer in order to save for a deposit as housing costs continue to increase. Some steps Gen Ys can take include budgeting more carefully and cutting out any unnecessary expenditure and saving as large of a deposit as possible for a property to reduce the size of the home loan required to be taken out.
The increase in household size may be attributed to several factors other than Gen Y’s staying at home longer, but due to high costs, many opt for a shared housing approach with their peers by splitting costs and therefore utilising all available rooms in a home.
Lenders will continue to provide funds in the market provided that there is no major risk of a housing price collapse. One of the other factors that goes into keeping the house prices up, is the high LVR home loans. And as such, 95%-100% lend home loans are making a comeback indicating funds are being more readily available than the post-GFC period as lenders are becoming less risk-averse.
If your credit cards are stolen while you’re travelling, there are some important steps to be aware of if you wish to make a claim – not only what you’re entitled to expect, but also what steps you’re expected to take.
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As in many other areas of the world, the housing market in Australia recently has been subject to close scrutiny. Multiple factors have contributed to Australia’s high property prices namely decades of the flowing credit with home loans requiring only 5% down (or less). Other factors include the strong economic conditions, homeowners desiring bigger residences, urban concentration, the influx of immigrants from Northern Europe, and perhaps shortages in available housing. According to the National Housing Supply Council, the gap between demand and supply could reach 640,000 dwellings in twenty years if things continue, as is.
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Like many people you will be looking to cut your spending and save your money after the Christmas spending splurge, so you may need some help to learn how not to spend as much money when out and about shopping.
After Christmas your credit cards are probably overloaded and you may be wondering how on earth you can even make it through January. Stop and take a minute to browse through the list below where you can find some really useful tips that will help you lower your expenditures.
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According to LifeBroker, Australian’s worry about burglary as much as death, only 54% of Australians have life insurance and surprise, surprise the major factor for people to under insure is cost.
Over the past few years the banking world has undergone a lot of scrutiny, and rightly so. In the world of web design, whoever wins the web design contract for these financial giants will usually not have much room for innovation. All the innovation is mostly unseen and behind the multi-step login screens for internet banking systems.
here’s an unordered showcase of the world’s largest and (dare I say) most reputable banks, from the Wild West to the Far East.
Headquarted in Paris, it is the largest global banking group in the world with up to $3.1 trillion worth of assets. In the 2007-09 credit crisis BNP were left unscathed reporting a €3bn net profit for 2008, and €5.8bn for 2009.
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Subscribe todayMoney Hacker is a fresh Australian money and lifestyle blog dedicated to sharing great personal finance tips along with some oddities & curiosities from both the financial world found on our meanderings through the vast workings of the web. We hope you enjoy the read!