From all of us here at Homeloans, we wish you a fun and happy new year whatever you get up to. See you next year!

QBE insurance

Well done to all those who’ve bought their QBE car, building or contents insurance policies through Homeloans and received complimentary Bunnings or Caltex vouchers!

Merry Christmas from Homeloans!

From everyone at Homeloans, we would like to wish you and your families a safe and happy Christmas, and a wonderful new year. Customers, should you need us, we will be open for business next week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Happy holidays!

Homeloans' iPod Nano competition!

To celebrate the launch of Homeloans’ new website, we’re giving you the chance to win a new iPod Nano with Multi-Touch!

But first you’ll need to follow the five very simple steps to find the entry form hidden on our site! Start the search by finding and clicking the iPod Nano on our homepage… www.homeloans.com.au

Send your monitor to sleep!

Monitors are responsible for more than one third of a computer's energy consumption, so conserve energy by setting yours to go to sleep or power off when your computer is inactive for more than a few minutes. 

To find out more about our Carbon Conscious™ program, click here.

Win a pool float from Swimart for summer!*

Summer wouldn’t really be summer without floating around your backyard pool on the old inflatable lilo and Homeloans is giving you the chance to win one of six pool floats from Swimart*.

Click here to enter!

Bank Sentiment hits record lows!

According to latest research findings, bank sentiment is at a record low with 65% of the market saying they ‘dislike’ the Big Four banks, up from 47% in August.
Homeloans – celebrating 25 years as a refreshing alternative to the banks! Read more..

Your Christmas shopping needs sorted

Enjoy Christmas this year without the stress! Homeloans customers have access to a great range of Christmas shopping benefits through benefits partner, Member Advantage, with online shopping website DealsDirect.com.au. Read more…

November rate hike – where to from here?

November was a very busy month in the mortgage industry for banks, non-banks, politicians, regulators and our reserve bank alike.

The month’s activities kicked off on Melbourne Cup Day with a 25 basis points (bps) cash rate increase by the RBA. Not to be out done, the CBA quickly announced they would pass on an additional 20 bps to their customers, lifting their variable interest rates by a total of 45bps – but not before CEO, Ralph Norris had boarded his plane for an overseas trip. Read more...

RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) decision for December 2010

At its meeting today, the Board of the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) decided to leave the cash rate unchanged. Merry Christmas!

A customer benefits story...

Kiara from WA decided to share her customer benefits story with us this week:

"I booked accommodation this morning via Hotel Club using my Homeloans Member Advantage card. The comparison on Wotif.com was $72 dearer!" 

Click here to find out how you can save with your Homeloans customer benefits card.

GadgetGuy’s guide to internet TV

Free TV, pay TV and now web TV. New equipment is bringing the entertainment riches of the internet right into the living room, writes Max Everingham, and it promises exciting viewing.

There’s nothing we like better than to regale you with tales of the advent of a new technology or service that is going to immeasurably improve the quality of your life, put a bounce in your step, a song in your heart and make you look good in front of all your mates. Read more

Homeloans celebrates 25 years!

Homeloans turns 25 years old today! Thanks to everyone who’s supported us over the last quarter of a century, and we’re excited about the next 25 years of offering Australians with a refreshing alternative to the banks!
Rear more

Home loan calculators

As dust settles on latest interest rate changes, check our calculators to see how your borrowing capacity and repayments may have changed. Click here.

Make electricity while the sun shines

With soaring electricity prices hitting homeowners hard, and long sunny summer days on their way, installing solar panels is becoming an attractive consideration: prices are coming down, technologies are improving and government incentives to go solar are now in full swing. Read more...

Congratulations!

Congratulations to D. Armistead of WA, who was the lucky winner of our ‘win BoB™’ competition, courtesy of our customer benefits partner, iiNet.

Click here to find out more about iiNet benefits for Homeloans customers.

Save on Health Insurance with Homeloans Customer Benefits!

Steve from SA just told us that he is saving $15 per month on his HCF health insurance through the Homeloans customer benefits program!

To find out how easy it is for you to save on a range of benefits using your Homeloans Customer Benefits card, click here.

Homeloans plants its 2,500th tree!

Homeloans is pleased to announce that we have planted our 2,500^th tree as part of our Carbon Conscious program that we launched earlier this year!

You can find out more about Homeloans Carbon Conscious program here.

Are we in a housing bubble??

Some economists have recently expressed views that Australian house prices are overvalued when compared to historical trends and prices in other developed countries.

Tony Carn, Homeloans’ general manager of third party distribution, discusses why we should exercise caution in listening to such claims. Read more...

Homeloans customer benefit highlight of the month: Dinner discounts!

This month’s Homeloans customer benefit highlight is the amazing discounts you can receive at restaurants and cafés around Australia.

With a range of selections for any culinary taste and budget, Member Advantage’s search engine has made it easy for you to find the closest participating restaurant.

Simply jump on to http://www.homeloans.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=363, follow the links to the Member Advantage website and use your Homeloans Customer benefits card to log in.

When you take out a Homeloans loan, you are entitled to a range of sensational benefits, from discounts on grocery shopping and fuel, to great deals on dining and entertainment.

More about Homeloans’ customer benefit program.

Ever heard of a $40 note?

Many of us would remember the introduction of the one dollar coin or the $100 note in 1984, or even the decimal currency system itself in 1966. But have you ever heard of a $40 note? Neither had we, until we heard this amazing story from a member of the Homeloans community... Read more

Homeloans Customer Benefits: DealsDirect.com.au

DealsDirect.com.au, Australia’s number 1 Online Department Store#, is proud to offer 5% off site-wide to Homeloans customers.

Shop from over 7,500 products across 24 categories. From electronics to sport and fitness, kitchen appliances to children’s toys; there’s something for everyone.

Shop online from the comfort of your home and enjoy fast delivery direct to your door, with next day despatch on most items.

To find out more about how you can save, log on to the Homeloans Customer Benefits page and follow the links.

http://www.homeloans.com.au/benefits

Delicious Weekend Recipe: Pesto-infused Prawn Skewers

A delicious weekend recipe for the food lover inside all of us.

Serves 4:

16 green king prawns (look for Spencer Gulf prawns), peeled (but tails left on) and de-veined

8 small metal skewers – or bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes

200g bottled pesto

Olive oil spray

Ground black pepper

Put the prawns into a bowl with the pesto, coat well and marinate, refrigerate for 1 hour. Thread two prawns onto each skewer and place on a plastic-wrap lined plate. Spoon the pesto over, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 4 hours in the refrigerator.

Spray a medium-hot flat plate with oil. Add the prawns and cook. Sprinkle on black pepper and baste once with the pesto. You can turn these twice during the cooking.

Serve on a platter with cocktail napkins to have as a starter around the barbecue.

Recipe from Barbecue Seafood by Peter Howard. Published by New Holland.

Homeloans loans are Carbon Conscious

Homeloans plants a tree for every new Homeloans loan.

At Homeloans, we aim to conduct our business in an environmentally responsible fashion. In order to help us achieve this, we have teamed up with Carbon Conscious, an Australian company that produces carbon credits through carbon farming.

We are taking action towards countering greenhouse gases in our atmosphere by planting a Mallee Eucalypt tree for each new Homeloans loan settled. The Mallee Eucalypt is a native species adapted to the growing conditions of the Australian Wheatbelt region where they are planted. Over its growing life, the Mallee Eucalypt will store carbon from the atmosphere.

This activity is not something that is factored into the pricing of our home loans and it does not result in any additional expense for our customers. Rather, it is our way of contributing to a more sustainable environment and exercising our corporate social responsibility, something which is important to us at Homeloans.

To find out more about Homeloans Carbon Conscious program, click here.