Premier Anna Bligh says Queenslanders should view the state’s debt as a mortgage, not a hefty credit card bill.

Queensland is expected to record a $1.95 billion deficit for 2009/10.

Its debt level is projected to blow out to $85.5 billion by 2012/13 - the highest of any state.

A day after the Queensland budget was handed down, Ms Bligh said that borrowing to invest in infrastructure during a global recession was good debt.

The opposition has criticised the government for wracking up an enormous debt on what it called the taxpayer credit card.
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This is a defining moment in Australian banking. Two of the big four banks have opted for aggressive mortgage lending to capture market share. The other two are opting for safety. Time will tell which strategy was right.

Business Spectator financial services

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Talking about mortgages may be boring but I can’t help myself. Since I wrote a book on the subject , I’ve noticed people avoid me at weekend barbecues in case I debate the finer points of financing a property. Mortgage lending policies are a vital driver of house prices, rent …

Domain.com.au

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Australians are using lower interest rates to repay debt instead of saddling up for more borrowings, a mortgage lender says.

Resi Mortgage head of consumer advocacy Lisa Montgomery said there had been an eight per cent increase in those wanting to consolidate debt, among the 700 customers surveyed about the future for their finances.

Since September, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has cut official interest rates by four percentage points to a 45-year low of 3.25 per cent, while banks have lowered their standard variable mortgage rate by an average 3.75 percentage points.
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When Anita Bell gives school seminars on how to save money she often asks her young audience how they could make a few bucks in their own backyard.

The answer she gets isn’t always quite what she’s angling for, but it shows that kids are full of money-making ideas.

“The little buggers always suggest growing marijuana,” Bell says from her Brisbane home.
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There’s no question that the economy, both domestically and globally speaking, is in pretty bad shape. Businesses are failing, jobs are being lost, and we’re officially in a recession. At the core of all this economic downturn is another serious problem: foreclosures.

With layoffs rampant and credit markets still pretty well frozen, some experts have suggested that the best thing to do is step up and start rescuing struggling homeowners.

One has to wonder though, what steps should really be taken in this case..and how do we distinguish what homeowners can still be saved, and which are so far gone that they’ll have to be left by the wayside? There aren’t any easy answers.
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As the dust slowly begins to settle on the US housing meltdown it’s becoming painfully clear that we don’t really know the full scope of the damage.  Already there a ominous signs of a new crisis, one that could potentially turn out the lights on shopping centres, hotels and stores all across America.

In an article on Yahoo news, it seems that the very same events that caused the housing market issues are now at work on the commercial sector with shopping centers and hotels nationwide about to default on their mortgage and enter foreclosure.
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Many Australians busily spend months getting their waistlines in shape for summer, so why not spend some of that time getting your mortgage into shape as well?

Mortgage Choice, encourages mortgage holders to welcome the warmer months by paying closer attention to the health of their mortgages.

Senior Corporate Affairs Manager for Mortgage Choice, Kristy Sheppard said many Australians could reap rewards by putting their mortgage under the microscope, especially those enjoying the benefits of recent rate cuts.
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Australia’s peak consumer advocacy group, Choice advises borrowers to bypass mortgage brokers when refinancing their loans if they want to shave thousands of dollars off the total.

A Choice report, which looked into the refinancing of home loans, has found that by avoiding mortgage brokers three typical borrowers could save between $18,000 and $46,000 over the life of their loans.

Choice asked three borrowers to shop around for a better deal on their mortgage. The study revealed that the best savings came by switching to credit unions and the online subsidiary of a major bank. The respective deals were unavailable through brokers.
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One in four borrowers expects to struggle to pay their mortgage at some time during the next year, a new survey shows.
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Mortgaged homeowners should be given the same protection from lenders as debt stricken NSW farmers, the federal opposition says.

The opposition is calling on the Rudd government to formalise an enforced mediation process before properties are repossessed.
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