Yes - in Aust all interest rates (borrowings and depositors) are linked in to what the RBA does. You will find term deposit rises as well (but not as much/fast as borrowing rates).

Quite a big proportion of the population (esp the younger generations) in Aust have very high borrowings (esp Sydney and Melb) and if they had bought recently, they will see increases in repayments quite disturbing. Aussies have been very lucky in the past 30 years in that home repossessions by banks have been very low. Whether we see home repossessions by banks increase substantially will be interesting as this may cause some headaches for the govt.

P's:

I have a Egyptian colleague (now 65 y.o.) with a A$1.31mil loan (used to owe A$1.65mil) who have 5 properties just 2 years ago - sold off 2 in the past 12 months and pocketed quite a big profit even though he had to pay capital gains tax. He only earns A$60k gross/yr (wife doesn't work with a dependent high-school daughter in year 10). He did a self-managed superfund and bought 2 properties in Campbelltown/Casula with his self-managed superfund. He calls me every now and then as i have lent him quite a lot of money before (to tie him over as he couldn't manage his house repayments so he is eternally grateful to me ). He was just telling me last week if he had not sold his 2 investment properties, he would face about A$2,950/mth EXTRA in repayments - bankruptcy probably for him. Luckily now he has enough equity in his properties so he is crossing his fingers that interest rates won't go up too high. Luckily his rentals for his properties have increased tremendously (all landed properties he holds now) recently.

My Egyptian's friend story is so fascinating - i can't resist not telling it.

This post has been edited by Garysydney: Oct 28 2022, 01:33 PM

Sorry - just saw your post.

If RBA puts up 0.5% in Nov, it is unlikely they will do anything in Dec - don't forget X'mas is a big thing for Aussies. If they put another 0.25% in Dec after putting in 0.5% in Nov, this will kill the economy. Lowe is a very conservative chap and he likes doing things slowly while in America, Fed does it more aggressively by cutting 0.75% each time. Dow Jones is slowly creeping upwards lately so it appears the market players in US thinks that rate rises are moderating - hopefully inflation has already peaked in US.

I have always been very aggressive in my investment approaches but i have started to reduce my exposure to stocks lately (the returns from the last 10-15 years in stock investment would never be repeated again in the foreseeable future and we may see years with negative returns which was quite unthinkable just a couple of years back). In Aust, we have seen many years of good solid returns with our superfunds but this kind of performance will unlikely be repeated in the next 5-10 years. The baby boomers was a very lucky generation (with hindsight) in terms of asset price appreciation in Aust.

The Fed is going for another 75 basis points, so even if RBA goes 50, it's still lagging the US and the AUD will still likely drop against the USD.

Bro Gary,....

Looks like the RBA consensus is wrong too,....

And Mr Lowe is indeed cautious,...

" At its meeting today, the Board decided to increase the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 2.85 per cent. It also increased the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances by 25 basis points to 2.75 per cent. "

I have to admit my prediction is wrong

Have to eat the humble pie and keep quiet now . I am surprised the Aussie has not dipped after the 0.25% announcement today - with the increasing difference in interest rates between US and Aussie, we may see the Aussie going down to US60c level soon.

50% probability, bro,... no damage done,...

The AUD immediately sank vs the Sing Dollar when this was announced at 2.30 pm sharp your time. But it has now recovered slightly.

Guys, want to inquire, how much is an average property (condo/landed) in Aussie and are foreigners allowed to borrow from banks at 80%-90%? My budget will be 3k/monthly with downpayment 10%

Bro Gary,... I believed you are the best person to reply to the above enquiry. Please help us here.


I have always enjoyed your inputs and have always found them to be very informative. Please continue to provide your inputs.

I needed them, my children are in Australia,... we treasured your inputs.

foreigners need to get approval from FIRB https://firb.gov.au/

When I applied in 2014, it was free, but since 2015, there is a significant fee to pay.... https://www.homeloanexperts.com.au/non-resi.../firb-approval/

Getting local Australian housing loans is problematic nowadays, when i asked last time, they say can loan 50%, but don't know about now. https://www.homeloanexperts.com.au/non-resi...igner-mortgage/

The housing market is very varied between locations, so you cannot ask such general questions, identify your locations first...

This post has been edited by limeuu: Nov 3 2022, 11:54 PM

Hi all,

My employer (bank) is considering to transfer me from SG branch to SYD as permanent hire. I have family who is Australian. Is it better to have family sponsor or employer sponsorship for my work visa? Wishlist is to have a pathway to PR so my children can enjoy free education. Welcome your experience and thoughts. Thanks.

Heya there - not sure about family sponsorship as it'll take a very long time, and not even sure if you can get it unless you meet certain criteria. Probably easier to get the employer sponsorship and then eventually apply for your own PR based on your own working experience/skills like the subclass 190 visa.

Thanks. Got it. Get in and plan accordingly.

For children schooling, do you know of any distinctions between a PR and foreigner for enrolment?

School-going children needs to pay much more for foreigners. PRs and Citizens do not need to pay anything for their public schools, and need to pay a lower fee for their private schools. We're talking abt schools right up to Senior College here.

I think, in you case,...

Go with a Work Visa first.

How much does foreigner need to fork out for preschool and primary school in comparison to PRs? Statistically how long does PR approval take? Is it guaranteed following application from work visa?

Every school is different, I think the headmaster sets the rate. From what I experienced earlier,... the fee for a foreigner was at least two times that for a local, private international school.

It depends on the type of PR you are applying for. I have not applied for one,...

I'm not as well versed in regards to the price difference as I came to Aus as a PR.
It's quite likely different pricing for different levels of education based on the states themselves as they can vary greatly.

Your best bet is to wait for someone who knows to respond, or to check out immigration agents' websites like:
https://www.sableinternational.com/blog/aus...nd-who-does-not

Alternatively you can check out the Department of Education for international students like this NSW example:
https://www.deinternational.nsw.edu.au/study-options/fees

Good stuff. Will go thru them. Will require some basic information to negotiate with HR. Preschool and primary education will be key. Thanks.

During my time,... I'd go ask the school headmaster himself/herself,... What I did was I targetted a few schools that I think would be good for my kids,... then I made an appt to see the HM. Nothing beats this tactic for wholesome information for your planning purposes.

Something I have to consider myself in the future as my kiddo is just an infant now. I'm even considering changing my religion so he has access to better schools too if it's worthwhile.
Hopefully the Christian schools aren't too hung up on that and would allow others outside the religion to join too if they're a good student.

Is there no waiting list or parents volunteering scheme to join the school?

Do these schools have affiliation towards religion and enrollment priority is given to specific group?