Australian's built 1.02 million homes between the 2016 and 2021 financial years – a big increase on the long-term average, which has typically involved about 750,000 dwelling completions during each five-year period.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed the winners and losers from the widespread lockdowns that occurred in July and August.

Accommodation & food services was the industry that suffered the biggest fall, with the industry experiencing a 16.6% month-on-month decline in turnover in July and then another 6.5% decline in August.

The use of buy-now-pay-later services has surged in recent years, more than doubling between 2018 and 2021, according to Roy Morgan. Meanwhile, credit cards are also used by a lot of Australians.

While both buy-now-pay-later services (BNPL) and credit cards have pros and cons, you might not realise that using them can affect your mortgage borrowing power.

House rents have climbed strongly in many parts of Australia, while some unit markets have also enjoyed strong growth, according to Domain.

Over the year to September, capital city house rents increased by an average of 5.5% and six capital cities experienced double-digit growth.

Australia’s banking regulator, APRA, has introduced new lending rules that will reduce the maximum amount some people can borrow.

When you apply for a mortgage, lenders are required to assess your ability to repay the loan not on the actual interest rate, but on the interest rate plus a buffer.