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Learn more about how to manage your personal finances with RateCity's home loan articles, including how-to-guides on comparing home loan interest rates, fees, features and other benefits.

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Be wary of cleverly marketed mortgages

Borrowers are being urged to take caution when signing up to some home loan interest rate promotions, following the launch of several deals last month. While the official cash rate remained steady in May and June, five lenders slashed some of their residential mortgage rates by as much as 45 basis points.

Home Loans

30 Jun, 2011

3 min read

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

To fix or not to fix your home loan rate?

If you're nearing the end of your current mortgage deal or you're looking to buy a new home then planning your finance strategy for the future is no walk in the park, particularly amid rate rise forecasts.

Home Loans

30 Jun, 2011

3 min read

To fix or not to fix your home loan rate?

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Owning or renting? How each stacks up financially

Do you think owning your own property is financially out of reach? On the contrary, new figures reveal that the monthly cost to rent a house in the nation's capital cities is on par with repaying an average-sized mortgage.

Home Loans

30 Jun, 2011

3 min read

Owning or renting? How each stacks up financially

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Lenders home in on refinancers

Competition in the mortgage market is heating up and borrowers looking to refinance are set to gain the most as lenders redirect their push away from first-time borrowers.

Home Loans

28 Jun, 2011

3 min read

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Changes to First Home Saver Accounts make life easier

Changes to the First Home Saver Accounts (FHSA) Act will make saving for a deposit much easier.

Home Loans

27 Jun, 2011

2 min read

Changes to First Home Saver Accounts make life easier

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Are all mortgage calculators the same?

Loan Market’s Lee Banh answers your burning questions about mortgage calculators, including top tips and risks.

Home Loans

25 Jun, 2011

2 min read

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Mortgage tips from Australia's most successful finance gurus

The nation’s top finance experts share their tips on how you can save money for your first home deposit, avoid paying too much for a property and remain realistic about what having a mortgage really means.

Home Loans

24 Jun, 2011

2 min read

Mortgage tips from Australia's most successful finance gurus

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

RBA promises interest rate rise but guarantees boom times ahead

As the phenomenon known as Rate Watch continues, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens has reiterated the need for interest rates to rise, but softened the blow with a promise of greener pastures for Australia in the near future.

Home Loans

23 Jun, 2011

2 min read

RBA promises interest rate rise but guarantees boom times ahead

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Cut mortgage fees with a few simple tips

Australians paid $834 million fewer in fees on household bank accounts last year compared to 2009, shelling out around $4 billion in total. But home loan fees increased in the same period, up 2 percent, although that was less than in the past - the average annual increase over the previous five years was 9 percent.

Home Loans

22 Jun, 2011

3 min read

Cut mortgage fees with a few simple tips

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Banks' self-regulation puts borrowers back on top

Home Loans

22 Jun, 2011

3 min read

Banks' self regulation puts borrowers back on top

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Facebook initiative paves the way for free property valuations

Finding out what a property is worth is now as easy as updating your status. For the next six months, RP Data – Australia’s largest provider of property data and analytics to banks, government and real estate professionals – are offering up to three free property valuations per person. And it all happens via the company’s Facebook page.

Home Loans

20 Jun, 2011

2 min read

Facebook initiative paves the way for free property valuations

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Calling Gen Y: the property market needs you!

Generation Y may yet cast off their slacker image, with new research indicating those born between about 1982 and 2001 will lead the Australian housing market out of the gloom and into a new era of prosperity.

Home Loans

20 Jun, 2011

2 min read