Property auctions are gaining popularity once again as fears of rising interest rates pit buyer against buyer.

What's more, the imminent reduction of the First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) has resulted in a rush of eager first-timers thronging to auctions Australia wide. For the week ending September 20, 2009, RP Data recorded 1,686 auctioned properties including 873 in Melbourne alone and 549 in Sydney.

The build up to the FHOB cutback by the end of September was apparent with RP Data recording 1,462 auctions the week prior (week ending September 13) and 1,196 for the week ending September 6.

With just over a month before the First Home Owners Boost (FHOB) is scheduled to be reduced, home buyers will be sprinting for mortgage deals to guarantee themselves a hefty bonus. However, Aussies who borrow before they browse may find themselves being tripped up by higher rates and repayments.

Long-term deposit accounts are offering attractive rates of up to 7 percent in today’s market, but is it worth locking away your money for years, when we’re likely to see rates soar in the near future?

Right now, we’re seeing banks compete for capital in what the Reserve Bank considers a stabilising economy. Bankwest and RaboPlus have both introduced fixed interest rates of 7 percent p.a. for their five-year term deposits – a level unseen in almost a year.

With all the talk of interest rates on the rise, fixing your mortgage may not be the best knee-jerk reaction. Over the next week, most lenders are expected to follow the trend of increasing their fixed rates, which is why it’s more important than ever for borrowers to compare your current deal with what is on offer before locking yourself in.

In a bid for consumer goodwill, Westpac, National Australia Bank (nab) and now Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) have cut a significant portion of its exception fees across credit cards, personal accounts and business accounts. It looks like the big banks are finally raising an ear to consumer backlash over fees, but is this just a one off concession or the beginning of a banking trend?

Last week, Westpac and St George reduced all of its exception fees to $9, down from between $38 to $45. Earlier this week CBA announced that it would slash overdraft fees from $30 to $10 and dishonour fees from $34 to $5. And Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) joined the fees bandwagon today, revealing a similar move that will occur within weeks. This followed nab’s decision to eliminate all of its $30 exception fees, which includes fees for overdrawing an account or missing a credit card payment. In the 2008-09 financial year, these fees raked in $1.15 billion for the banks, which is profit not easily relinquished.

Home ownership is a luxury that many cannot afford, and with rising house prices over the last seven years, some of the most important workers in our communities are being shaken off the housing ladder, according to a recent Bankwest report.

The Bankwest Key Worker Housing Affordability report, released in July, shows that some of our vital public sector workers, including teachers, fire-fighters, nurses, ambulance and police officers, could not afford housing in 78 percent of local government areas (LGA) in Australia’s capital cities. It found that teachers and nurses had the hardest time, with only 4 percent and 2 percent of capital city LGAs offering affordable house prices respectively. This is a steep plummet from 2002, when nurses could afford to buy a house in 26 percent of LGAs in capital cities, and teachers could afford 34 percent

Years ago, the thought of buying a house with a friend would have seemed uncommon, but as our home loan market and our relationships become more sophisticated, the lines of mateship and mortgage are more intertwined than ever.

Last week, MyRate released findings which showed that enquiries from friends and relatives wishing to buy a property together increased 300 percent over the past six months. This is no big surprise, as home buyers will be scrambling to get the First Home Owners Boost before it ends after December.

The idea of a “People’s Bank”, suggested by some of the most influential economists in Australia, was snubbed by the Federal Government last week. Federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull supported the stance, stating that past experiences confirmed the concept will likely “end in tears”.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Treasurer Wayne Swan, the economists, including Christopher Joye, Managing Director of Rismark International and Nicholas Gruen, CEO of Lateral Economists, suggested the set up of a “basic”, publicly-owned institution where consumers who feel “unqualified to shop wisely in our financial markets” can access products that are “vouchsafed by governments as being safe and professionally managed”. It would enable customers to deposit money through Australia Post, and have their investments managed by the Future Fund.

Australians each pay thousands of dollars in tax every year, and just about everyone is left with a frown after being slapped with dozens of different fees. So in today’s money-chasing tax jungle, what are we really paying, and where does it all go?

In the last financial year, the Federal Government recorded revenue of $270.9 billion, while average weekly earnings were $915.40 per week, meaning that each Aussie was paying $8,280 in income tax. With the revised thresholds for this financial year (2009-10), this income tax figure is $150 less.