Graham Cooke

Sydney

Head of Consumer Research at Finder

Head of consumer research and general talking head @ Finder. Contributing author @ Money Magazine & Yahoo Finance. 🇮🇪 🇦🇺 Don’t tweet much.

Articles

Her husband died overseas - then she had to notify his super fund

1 week ago | moneymag.com.au | Graham Cooke |Tom Watson |Jeremy Lack |Nicola Field

In our modern, digitalised world, logins and passwords make it convenient to manage your affairs online from anywhere in the world. But it's a different story when something goes wrong. And for one Australian family, a tragedy demonstrated just how complicated our digital world can be.
Commonwealth Bank customer's 'panic' after 'fee-free' payment for Virgin flight backfires: 'Watched $10,000 leave my account'

3 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Graham Cooke

I was one of the first to visit the new Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at LAX—and I swear you could mistake it for a swanky barI relaxed at the new LAX lounge ahead of its debut. Here’s a peek inside. As airlines have built more and more lounges, the exclusive spaces have …
How noise actually affects the value of your house

3 weeks ago | moneymag.com.au | Nicola Field |Graham Cooke |Mark Chapman

How noise can affect your home's value, a simple way for small businesses to avoid unwanted ATO attention, and why it's time to raid the kids' Pokémon collection. Here are five things you may have missed this week. Real estate agents often spruik 'close to transport' as a selling point of homes, but it doesn't always lead to higher property values. Noise pollution has been shown to be harmful to our health. Turns out it's not great for property values either.
Friends With Money #195: Gold rush

1 month ago | moneymag.com.au | Tom Watson |Chris Brycki |Justin J. Lin |Graham Cooke

Published The price of gold has gone from strength to strength in recent years, but can it continue on its upward trajectory? This week on the Friends With Money podcast, Money's Tom Watson is joined by Chris Brycki, the founder and chief executive of Stockspot, to provide an update on gold prices and dig into the role gold can play in investment portfolios.
Australian Property and Rental Market Statistics

1 month ago | finder.com.au | Graham Cooke

National OverviewThe Australian property market has demonstrated resilience, showing significant price growth despite initial fears of a downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic. Property values surged notably in various cities, driven by low interest rates, increased housing demand, and limited supply. Conversely, rental markets initially softened during lockdowns but rebounded strongly as borders reopened and demand intensified, particularly in major metropolitan areas.
The cities where rents are soaring faster than property prices

1 month ago | moneymag.com.au | Graham Cooke |Tom Watson |Emily Wallace |Mark Chapman

When COVID-19 arrived, many Australians braced for a dramatic drop in property prices predicted by major banks, but Australia's housing market defied expectations and surged instead. In the tumultuous years that followed, a post-lockdown inflation boom spurred the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to implement multiple rate hikes, driving mortgage costs significantly higher.
Warning over Big Four banks after RBA cuts interest rate: '$10 million every day'

2 months ago | flipboard.com | Graham Cooke

1 hour agoMortgage repayment calculator: How much will you save now the RBA has dropped the cash rate?
RBA cuts cash rate for the first time since 2020

2 months ago | moneymag.com.au | Tom Watson |Graham Cooke

Homeowners with a mortgage will be breathing a collective sigh of relief following the Reserve Bank Board's decision to reduce interest rates for the first time in more than four years. After the conclusion of its February monetary policy meeting this afternoon, the RBA Board announced that it had decided to reduce the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.10%.
How to refinance your mortgage for the first time

2 months ago | moneymag.com.au | Tom Watson |Rachel Wastell |Graham Cooke

Australian property owners refinanced more than 372,000 mortgages valued at roughly $215 billion during 2024, the latest data from property settlement firm PEXA has revealed. While it might not seem like it from the numbers, last year was actually comparatively quieter on the refinancing front. In fact, the number of loans switched in 2024 was down 17.6% on the year prior. After a slow 12 months, 2025 could be a different story though - especially if the Reserve Bank begins lowering the cash rate.
How you can survive the looming mortgage cliff

2 months ago | moneymag.com.au | Graham Cooke |Tom Watson |Rachel Wastell |Nicola Field

In late 2021, when the cash rate was near zero and talk of an increase was growing due to inflation, I paid $3000 to break my fixed mortgage contract with Commonwealth Bank. I switched to a new four-year fixed rate of 1.89%. At the time, I worried the cost might be too high. Within a year, however, I was saving over $3000 every two months in interest. As interest rates climbed, I watched with concern as the proportion of Australians struggling with home loan repayments rose from 26% to 42%.