Connected Finance Solutions

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Connected Finance Solutions

"For all Commercial, Residential and Equipment Finance needs." Call (08) 89 41 41 41 for a free no-obligation broker service.

Getting the right finance in today’s market is more complex than simply providing a few pay slips and your driver’s licence. Finding the best deal let alone understanding the application process can be a daunting and difficult prospect. Connected Finance Solutions can make it simple and because we are a full service broker firm we can meet your business, commercial and home loan needs. With Manag

ing Director Andrew Carmichael at the helm, our team combines integrity, quality advice and business acumen to help you find the right finance solution. Disclaimer - Your contact information will be collected by Connected Finance Solutions Pty Ltd ATF The Finance Unit Trust and AFG or its subsidiaries and related businesses. AFG can be contacted at www.afgonline.com.au . We use this information to stay in contact and provide our services to you. We may also use your information to offer or provide you with additional products or services, or ask for your feedback. We may not be able to assist you if we do not have your current contact information. We may need to disclose your information to our associates, contractors and service providers, who may be overseas. Our Privacy Policy contains information about how you can access your personal information and request corrections or complain if you are dissatisfied with how we have dealt with your personal information.

01/09/2026

Property market shifts in favour of buyers

Property buyers are gaining more negotiating power as the national housing downturn becomes increasingly widespread.

Australia’s median property value fell 0.9% in August from July, according to Cotality, with 93% of capital city suburbs recording a decline over winter.

At the same time, buyer demand has weakened. Estimated home sales during the past quarter were 15.5% lower than a year earlier and 11.5% below the five-year average.

That means properties are taking longer to sell and available stock is accumulating. Capital city listings at the end of August were 24% higher than a year earlier and 8% above the five-year average.

Cotality said longer selling times, larger vendor discounts and persistently low auction clearance rates were all pointing towards a buyer’s market.

30/08/2026

First home buyer lending holds steady year-on-year

First home buyer activity has cooled in recent months, but the longer-term picture is more resilient.

The number of new owner-occupier first home buyer loans fell 2.9% in the June quarter, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), following a 3.6% decline in the March quarter.

Despite those two consecutive quarterly falls, first home buyer lending was unchanged compared with the June quarter of 2025.

That compares favourably with the broader owner-occupier market, where the number of new loans was 1.6% lower than a year earlier – the first annual decline since the September quarter of 2023.

So while fewer first home buyers are entering the market than at the start of the year, their overall presence has held up relatively well during a period of softer lending activity.

27/08/2026

Why national house prices may not fall far

Australia’s housing downturn is underway, but new analysis from Ray White suggests the national decline may be relatively contained.

National house values fell 0.8% in July and 2.0% over the three months to July, according to Cotality. However, they remain 5.7% higher than a year ago.

Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee modelled what could happen if prices continued falling at their recent pace of 0.68% per month.

If that continued for another six months, the annual decline would reach about 4.9%. For the fall to reach 7.9% – comparable with the Global Financial Crisis – prices would need to keep declining at the recent pace until April 2027.

Importantly, Conisbee said the current downturn is very different from the GFC, which involved a global credit shock and severe financial-system stress. Today, transaction volumes are exceptionally low, but there is no equivalent shock forcing large numbers of homeowners to sell.

Conisbee also identified several factors that could limit the downturn, including greater interest rate certainty, improving investor returns, high construction costs and the continuing shortage of housing.

So while prices may fall further, the underlying conditions suggest the national downturn could ultimately prove relatively shallow.

25/08/2026

Property scam confidence falls

Australians are becoming less confident in their ability to spot property scams, as scammers use increasingly sophisticated tactics.

New PEXA research found that 41% of recent and prospective property buyers were confident they could detect a property scam, down from 51% a year earlier.

The research also tested how well people could identify warning signs in a simulated scam email:

* 42% couldn’t identify any of the scam markers
* 99% failed to spot the fraudulent email address, even after being told the email was a scam

That matters because property transactions involve large sums of money and can already be stressful – 87% of respondents ranked them among their most stressful life experiences.

One important precaution is to independently verify any unexpected request to change payment details. Rather than replying to the message or using the contact details it provides, contact your conveyancer, lawyer or other property professional using a number you already know to be genuine.

23/08/2026

Don't assume you can't refinance

If you've thought about refinancing but assumed you wouldn't qualify, it may be worth getting a second opinion.

Finder's 2026 Home Loan Report found only 45% of mortgage holders believe they could switch to a better loan today.

Income and expenses were the most common obstacle, cited by 22% of borrowers, followed by being on a fixed rate (13%) and not having enough equity (11%).

But Finder home loans expert Richard Whitten said one of the most expensive assumptions borrowers can make is believing they can't refinance without investigating their options.

That's because every lender assesses borrowers differently.

So even if refinancing hasn't looked possible in the past, it may be worth asking a mortgage broker to check whether another lender would view your situation differently.

20/08/2026

Unemployment rises to 4.5%

Australia’s unemployment rate has edged higher, adding to signs that the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) interest rate rises are cooling the economy.

The unemployment rate rose from 4.4% in June to 4.5% in July, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Employment fell by 15,800 people, while unemployment increased by 4,200.

The result is broadly in line with the RBA’s expectations. Earlier this month, the central bank forecast unemployment would reach 4.5% by the end of 2026 before gradually rising to 4.8% by mid-2028.

The RBA has been using higher interest rates to slow demand and bring inflation under control. A softer labour market is one sign that this strategy is working. Of course, one unemployment result won’t determine what happens next. But if the labour market continues to soften and inflation moves in the right direction, the RBA may have less reason to raise rates again.

18/08/2026

Rental properties remain in short supply

Australia remains firmly a landlord’s market, judging by the latest rental vacancy data from SQM Research.

The national vacancy rate held at 1.3% in July, with rental properties particularly hard to find in several capital cities.

Darwin had the tightest market, with a vacancy rate of just 0.3%, followed by Perth, Adelaide and Hobart at 0.6% and Brisbane at 0.9%.

Conditions were less constrained in Sydney and Melbourne, where vacancy rates were 1.7%, and Canberra, at 1.8%.

There has been some improvement nationally, with 40,771 properties vacant compared with 37,863 a year earlier.

However, rental supply remains tight enough to support strong rental growth. National advertised rents have increased 7.2% over the past year, including rises of 14.1% in Darwin, 12.2% in Hobart and 8.3% in Brisbane.

SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said that while there were signs of moderation in rental conditions in some capitals, overall, the market remains undersupplied.

“Until we see a more sustained increase in available rental stock, we expect affordability pressures to remain elevated,” he said.

16/08/2026

Investors lead fall in home lending

Property investors have led a broader slowdown in Australia’s home loan market.
The number of investor loans fell 8.6% in the June quarter, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – the largest quarterly decline since September 2022.

The fall was particularly pronounced in three of the biggest markets:

* NSW = down 15.5%
* Victoria = down 14.2%
* Queensland = down 10.1%

The decline came during a period of significant change for investors. The Reserve Bank of Australia increased the cash rate for the third time in 2026 during the quarter, while the federal budget announced changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax.

Investor lending was still 2.8% higher than a year earlier, but that represents a sharp slowdown from the 19.4% annual growth recorded in the March quarter.

13/08/2026

Very few 5% deposit buyers in negative equity

One potential downside of buying with a 5% deposit is that it doesn’t take much of a price fall to push you into negative equity.

But despite the current property downturn, that’s happened to very few first home buyers using the federal government’s 5% Deposit Scheme, according to PropTrack.

About 48,000 properties have been purchased through the scheme since it was expanded last October, according to Housing Australia data.

PropTrack estimates just 87 of those households – less than 0.2% – are currently in negative equity. Meanwhile, 52% now have more than 5% equity in their property, meaning their position has actually improved since buying.

A key reason is that the downturn has been uneven. More affordable properties, which tend to be targeted by first home buyers using the scheme, have generally performed better than the top end of the market.

11/08/2026

RBA leaves interest rates on hold

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has given mortgage holders a reprieve, leaving the cash rate unchanged at 4.35%.

The decision follows three consecutive rate rises in February, March and May, as the RBA responded to a resurgence in inflation. One reason for the pause is that those higher rates are now flowing through the economy, with the central bank saying financial conditions have tightened and economic activity is slowing as expected.

There was also some encouraging news on inflation. Annual inflation fell from 4.6% in March to 3.8% in June – nearly a full percentage point below what the RBA had forecast in May. Trimmed mean inflation, which strips out some of the more volatile price movements, was also 0.2 percentage points below its previous forecast.

The RBA now expects inflation to gradually decline towards the 2.5% midpoint of its target range by early 2028. However, with inflation still above the bank’s 2–3% target range,
borrowers aren't out of the woods yet. The RBA warned it would do what was necessary to bring inflation sustainably back to target – including raising the cash rate again if inflationary risks increase.

Address

3/7 Margaret Street
Stuart Park, NT
0820

Telephone

+61889414141

Website

http://www.connectedfinance.com.au/

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