Lifecycle Finance - Lana Moy

26/10/2026

The annual McGrath Report delved into the key issues facing the property market and author John McGrath offered some reassurance despite the market “hitting a wall” this year.

Mr McGrath, the founder of McGrath Estate Agents, said history suggests the big cities are close to the end of their property value free fall.

Property entrepreneur John McGrath has revealed five Sydney suburbs set to beat the property slump and says Sydney’s housing downturn is almost over.

19/10/2026

Home ownership is still possible

So what can buyers with modest incomes do?

Start with the numbers.

Knowing your borrowing capacity and likely repayments can help establish a realistic price range before you start inspecting homes.

Get creative with your property search

Then decide where you can compromise.

That might mean considering a smaller property, an apartment instead of a house or a suburb further out – because reducing the purchase price can have a much bigger impact on repayments than trimming smaller household expenses.

A larger deposit can also reduce the amount you need to borrow, although waiting longer carries its own trade-offs if prices or rents move in the meantime.

The key is to make the property search fit the budget – not stretch the budget to fit a particular property.

Home ownership on a modest income may require some flexibility. Start by working out your borrowing capacity – then you can focus the property search on what’s realistically within reach.

12/10/2026

Cheap Sydney waterfront!

A low-priced property has caught the attention of bargain hunters as interest in cheap riverfront real estate swells.

24/09/2026

Anyone planning a new build needs to budget for a very different cost environment than existed just a few years ago.

The cost of building a new home has risen another 5.7% over the past year, according to the latest ABS data, as builders pass on higher labour and material costs.

Zoom out further and the shift is even more striking: homebuilding costs are now 47.7% higher than at the start of 2020.

That makes careful planning especially important before signing a building contract.

What to look for

Before committing, look beyond the headline build price.

With build costs significantly higher than a few years ago, even small exclusions from the contract can add up quickly.

Allow room for expenses such as site works, council requirements, landscaping, driveways and upgrades that may not be included in the base contract.

It’s also worth keeping a contingency buffer in case costs change during construction.

Finance works differently too. Construction loans generally release money in stages as the build progresses rather than providing the full amount upfront.

That means the loan structure needs to match the building contract and payment schedule.

Before signing a building contract, get in touch to make sure the finance is ready to support the project from the first progress payment to the last.

07/09/2026

If you can afford it, there are deals to be had

Sydney home sellers are accepting six-figure discounts at rates not seen in years, with new data revealing the suburbs hit hardest by the deepening downturn.

28/08/2026

The $55m offset account warning for mortgage holders.

Your home loan repayments can look perfectly normal even when your offset account isn't delivering the savings it should.

That's one of the concerning findings from a recent review by ASIC, the financial services regulator.

ASIC found that when offsets don't operate correctly, banks may still collect the same repayment – but allocate more towards interest and less towards principal.

That can make the problem difficult for borrowers to detect.

A widespread problem

ASIC examined eight banks covering more than 70% of Australia's home loan market.

While their practices differed, every bank reviewed had weaknesses in how offsets were set up, monitored or managed.
Banks paid more than $55 million in compensation for failures over the two years to August 2025, with more expected.

The takeaway isn't that offset accounts don't work. Used correctly, they can help reduce mortgage interest and accelerate repayments.

But it pays to understand exactly what your loan promises.

05/08/2026

"House prices in Sydney and Melbourne will slump by up to 5 per cent this year before recovering most of the loss next year, one of Australia’s leading economists has predicted."

Being a buyers market, is it time to consider purchasing?

Prices are down, wages have remained stable, cost of living has increased.
If you want to know what your affordability looks like, get in contact.

https://www.domain.com.au/news/house-prices-correction-not-crash-1540965/

05/08/2026

Great time to buy...but where is the bottom of the market?

Sydney’s property listings have seen an abnormal winter surge, as buyers gain the upper hand in the falling market.

15/07/2026

When to buy?

"Time in the market is more important than timing the market"

Whoa, hang on a minute. If prices are going to fall, I don’t want to buy now. I’m going to wait until they crash.’ The problem is, nobody knows when it’s the bottom until it’s no longer the bottom.”

Australia’s property market has shifted firmly in buyers’ favour, but experts warn that waiting for prices to bottom out could prove a costly mistake.

09/07/2026

Rents start to increase as new investor numbers evaporate.

Rents have hit a new high after another recent surge linked to the government’s clampdown on investor benefits.