Life in Australia ? Reality Zone Shows it

I was just watching the tele when I saw an interesting program on the employment scene in Australia. It was Reality Zone channel, so anyone receiving this satellite channel should not miss it. I think it’s a program that they show on regular basis with new stuff each time. In the program they show lives of three to four person who are looking for work and how they manage in their interviews etc. Specially interesting is the part where they show what each potential employers is looking for in a successful candidate. It’s particularly a must watch for those wanting to explore employment scene in Australia ! Long live the new age and modern technology where such information comes through so easily ! And of course how wonderful it would be if people shared their views about this program here !

Who are We ?

Since the launch of this blog, we have been receiving emails almost on regular basis asking for help in migrating to Australia. While we certainly try to guide the mailers to the right sources such as the official website of DIMA, we also would like to make it clear for all future visitors and readers of this blog that we are not a migration consultancy or firm. This blog has been set up with the simple and sole objective of providing recent or future migrants to Australia useful information in helping them to settle down successfully in the new country and nothing beyond. This is a platform where recent or future migrants to Australia can exchange their valuable thoughts, information and experiences with others. We hope this will clarify the matter for anyone looking at this website as a migration consulting service !

Which City is the best for migration in Australia ?

Which city in Australia is the best for migration is a question most often asked or at least raised in the minds of those who are planning to migration to this vast, migrant-friendly, prosperous and still untapped country in terms of opportunities ? People don’t want to keep experiencing as to which place suits them best. So they go on researching online and offline and even talking to people who have already moved to Australia and try to decide in the light of their experiences. But realistically speaking, each of us have our own unique experiences depending on highly variable conditions such as qualifications, experience, expectations, skills and of course, above all , luck !

We therefore return to that key question: which city is the best to migrate to in Australia ? Well, the answer to this questions is as open as the question itself. In this blog, we will greatly appreciate thoughts and input on this particular issue to make the visit to this blog a useful experience to all those who either have just migrated to Australia or those who are thinking of doing so. So please get your fingers moving on that keyboard and chip in with your thoughts  and experiences.

Mortgages slump as house sales slow in Australia

An interesting story that I ran into on the current mortgage scenario in Australia is shared below:

The number of mortgage sales across Australia fell by 21.2 per cent month-on-month during September, well below the expected seasonal decline, according to an industry survey.

The survey by AFG, Australia’s largest mortgage broker, concluded homebuyers had kept their hands in their pockets, concerned over the ramifications of the global credit crisis. Figures compiled by AFG show the number of sales fell by 2000 from 9412 mortgages, worth A$3.03 ($3.6) billion, in August to 7412 mortgages, worth A$2.44 ($2.9) billion, last month.

New South Wales was the worst affected state with a 27.4 per cent decline on the August sales.

In the past two years, the same index has recorded a seasonal downturn of 8.5 per cent in mortgage sales during September.

Mark Hewitt, AFG’s sales and operations general manager, said last month’s downturn represented a decline of two-and-a-half times the established seasonal average.

“There’s no doubt that concerns about global debt markets and the unknown potential impact of sub-prime difficulties is making property buyers hold off,” he said. “On the positive side, the underlying market is still strong, especially in Victoria, where we are seeing higher levels of confidence in property than we have for quite some time.”

Despite the fall in volume of mortgage sales in Victoria, the average mortgage size broke through the A$300,000 barrier in that state for the first time to hit A$304,000, up from A$289,000 in August. Last month, the average mortgage nationally was A$329,489, ($392,388) as the average NSW home loan hit A$382,790.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/story.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10468709