The number of foreign buyers has reached has reached record levels in Victoria, where they accounted for 32.5 % of all new property sales in the fourth quarter of 2014. While foreign buyers were less prevalent in new housing markets nationally in the fourth quarter, accounting for 14.8 % of demand compared with 16.8 % […]
Wide Bay Australia shareholders have approved a change of name to Auswide Bank at a general meeting. The Queensland-based lender will now seek consent from APRA to move to bank status from April 1. APRA’s consent is required before it can use the work ‘bank’. Wide Bay chairman John Humphrey said the name change is […]
Westpac has reported an increase in consumer confidence, which the bank insists is more than just a result of the regular “holiday boost”. The major reported a 2.4 per cent monthly improvement in consumer sentiment for January, but it is still down 9.7 per cent compared with 12 months ago. However, chief economist Bill Evans […]
Australians are keeping well ahead of their mortgage repayments, utilizing consistently low interest rates to pay loans off faster. Results from Citibank’s 2014 financial survey show a quarter of the population are mortgage free home owners, up 9% from 2007. News Ltd spoke to Citibank’s head of banking solutions and wealth management, Deidre Wroth, who […]
