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Australia is building more homes than ever. So why are rents still rising?A record 243,864 homes are mid-build, yet rents are up 5.9% and vacancy is 1.6%. Australia's housing supply pipeline in four numbers, from ABS data.Data story · interactiveGabriel Loh · Jul 2026 · 4 min readHow much debt can an acquisition actually carry?Lenders size acquisition debt two ways, a percentage of price or a multiple of EBITDA. The gap between them can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.Data story · interactiveGabriel Loh · Jul 2026 · 6 min readPersonal guarantees when buying a business in AustraliaPersonal guarantee on a business loan explained: three types, what's at risk, what can be negotiated, and whether the bank can take your home.GuideJonathan Chan · Jun 2026 · 10 min readEveryone has a view on property since the budget. We watched 13 Saturdays of auctions instead.Thirteen Saturdays of Cotality auction results: the slide to a 45.3% floor, three firmer weeks, and why Melbourne keeps clearing. Interactive data story.Data story · interactiveGabriel Loh · Aug 2026 · 5 min readVendor finance vs deferred payments: the one-word difference that can decide your dealVendor finance, deferred payments and bank finance in one acquisition: how banks read each, and why the wording decides whether a deal gets funded.GuideJonathan Chan · Jul 2026 · 6 min readAustralian property market 2026: one number, eight marketsAustralian property market 2026: national values fell 0.7% this quarter while Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide hit record highs. See the split by city.Data story · interactiveGabriel Loh · Jul 2026 · 6 min read

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Office vacancy is at a 30-year high, and lenders have changed how they read an office building.National office vacancy hit 16.1% in H1 2026, a three-decade high, with suburban at 18.9%. What it means for how banks value and lend against office property.Market noteJonathan Chan · Oct 2026 · 6 min readBuying your medical practice's rooms: lenders read the practice and the property together.Medical centres sold at 4.82% in Surrey Hills and 5.49% in Mentone in 2026. What a lender assesses when a medical practice buys its own rooms.GuideJonathan Chan · Oct 2026 · 6 min readBuying the pub and the freehold together: how a bank splits the deal.Pub freehold going concern finance: a lender values the property and the business separately. How the split works, from a $695,000 country pub to a $24m hotel.GuideJonathan Chan · Oct 2026 · 6 min readChildcare centre finance in Melbourne: lenders read the catchment as closely as the lease.A four-centre Melbourne childcare portfolio listed with 11.78 years of lease and an oversupply warning. What a lender checks on a childcare centre loan.GuideJonathan Chan · Oct 2026 · 6 min readBanks earn a wider margin on business lending than on home loans. Here's what the gap pays for.All four major banks earn a wider margin in business lending than in home loans. CBA: 3.39% vs 2.50% in FY26. What the gap pays for and what moves yours.Data story · interactiveGabriel Loh · Oct 2026 · 8 min readRefinancing commercial property when your fixed rate or term ends.Refinance commercial property: the cash rate has risen a full point in 2026. When to start, what your bank reviews at expiry, and when moving lender pays off.GuideJonathan Chan · Sep 2026 · 5 min read

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Buying a business

13 articlesOur full guide

Can I actually buy a business?

Can a first-time searcher with no industry experience get funded?A first-time searcher with no industry experience can still get funded. Here's how lenders weigh character, capacity and the transition plan.GuideJonathan Chan · Jul 2026 · 8 min readDo you need property to buy a business?You do not need property to buy a business. Property changes the price of the debt, the term and how much of the purchase price the lender covers.Data story · interactiveJonathan Chan · Sep 2026 · 6 min readHow to finance a business acquisition in Australia: the complete 2026 guideWhat banks actually look for in business acquisition loans. Deposit ranges by lender, deal structures, vendor finance, and timelines from a Melbourne broker.GuideGabriel Loh · Mar 2026 · 10 min read

How do I find and fund the search?

Self-funded search vs search fund vs independent sponsor: how the financing differsHow self-funded search, search fund and independent sponsor models finance an acquisition, and what changes for the lender in each structure.GuideJonathan Chan · Jul 2026 · 8 min readProprietary search vs brokered deals: sourcing your own acquisitionProprietary search vs brokered deals: how you source an acquisition changes vendor finance room and what a lender sees at the finance stage.GuideJonathan Chan · Jul 2026 · 8 min read

How much will a bank lend me?

How much debt can an acquisition actually carry?Lenders size acquisition debt two ways, a percentage of price or a multiple of EBITDA. The gap between them can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.Data story · interactiveGabriel Loh · Jul 2026 · 6 min readYes, a bank will fund you buying a business. Here is what the yes looks like.Banks fund business acquisitions every week in Australia, with or without property security. Here is the fork that decides the shape of the yes.GuideJonathan Chan · Jul 2026 · 6 min readWhat banks look for in business acquisition loansThe Big 4 banks are raising the bar and getting selective on business and commercial lending. What banks underwrite now, and where deals still get funded.GuideJonathan Chan · Jul 2026 · 6 min readCan a bank fund a loss-making business acquisition?Loss-making business acquisition finance is assessed differently to a profitable deal. What lenders need before they say yes.GuideJonathan Chan · Jul 2026 · 7 min read

How should the deal be structured?

Share sale vs asset sale: the fork that scares first-time buyersAsset sale vs share sale, either way round. They look alike on price and timeline, and lenders read them completely differently.GuideJonathan Chan · Jul 2026 · 5 min readVendor finance vs deferred payments: the one-word difference that can decide your dealVendor finance, deferred payments and bank finance in one acquisition: how banks read each, and why the wording decides whether a deal gets funded.GuideJonathan Chan · Jul 2026 · 6 min read

What am I personally on the hook for?

Personal guarantees when buying a business in AustraliaPersonal guarantee on a business loan explained: three types, what's at risk, what can be negotiated, and whether the bank can take your home.GuideJonathan Chan · Jun 2026 · 10 min read

What happens between offer and settlement?

The ETA searcher's financing journey: from LOI to settlementStep by step: what happens on the finance side from letter of intent to settlement for an ETA acquisition, and roughly how long each stage takes.GuideJonathan Chan · Jul 2026 · 8 min read

Commercial property

12 articlesOur full guide

Can my SMSF buy commercial property?

Can you still borrow in an SMSF to buy commercial property?SMSF borrowing for commercial property is unaffected by the residential LRBA ban commencing around 10 August 2026. What business owners need to know.GuideJonathan Chan · Jul 2026 · 6 min readSMSF commercial property: the 9 August 2026 LRBA deadlineSMSF commercial property borrowing survives the residential LRBA ban commencing 10 August 2026. Here is the 9 August exchange line and the open question.GuideJonathan Chan · Jul 2026 · 8 min read

What is the commercial market doing?

Business borrowers set a record buying property. Households pulled back.Business finance for property purchases hit a record $27.2bn in the June quarter 2026 while new home loans fell 5.2%. What the ABS split means for buyers.Data story · interactiveGabriel Loh · Sep 2026 · 5 min readMelbourne commercial property: what the price headlines are missingMelbourne's property price weakness is the headline, but yields, rents and vacancy tell a different story for commercial property buyers and investors focused on income.Market noteJonathan Chan · Apr 2026 · 5 min readRetail yields sit at or above industrial in four of five capitals, by up to 88 basis points in Adelaide. Melbourne is the exception.CBRE Q2 2026 yields by city: super prime industrial from 5.17% in Sydney to 6.0% in Melbourne, regional retail 5.61% to 6.88%, and what it means for a loan.Data story · interactiveGabriel Loh · Sep 2026 · 7 min readOffice vacancy is at a 30-year high, and lenders have changed how they read an office building.National office vacancy hit 16.1% in H1 2026, a three-decade high, with suburban at 18.9%. What it means for how banks value and lend against office property.Market noteJonathan Chan · Oct 2026 · 6 min read

How will a bank assess my property loan?

Owner-occupier or investor: how a lender reads the same Melbourne warehouse two ways.A bank assesses an owner-occupier on the business and an investor on lease and rent. How the LVR, documents and repayment test differ, with a Melbourne case.GuideJonathan Chan · Sep 2026 · 6 min readWhy banks decline commercial property loans, and what changes the answer.Five reasons banks decline commercial property loans, from weak tenants to short leases and valuation gaps, and the price, equity or structure fix for each.GuideJonathan Chan · Sep 2026 · 6 min readRefinancing commercial property when your fixed rate or term ends.Refinance commercial property: the cash rate has risen a full point in 2026. When to start, what your bank reviews at expiry, and when moving lender pays off.GuideJonathan Chan · Sep 2026 · 5 min read

Can I finance a specialised property?

Childcare centre finance in Melbourne: lenders read the catchment as closely as the lease.A four-centre Melbourne childcare portfolio listed with 11.78 years of lease and an oversupply warning. What a lender checks on a childcare centre loan.GuideJonathan Chan · Oct 2026 · 6 min readBuying your medical practice's rooms: lenders read the practice and the property together.Medical centres sold at 4.82% in Surrey Hills and 5.49% in Mentone in 2026. What a lender assesses when a medical practice buys its own rooms.GuideJonathan Chan · Oct 2026 · 6 min readBuying the pub and the freehold together: how a bank splits the deal.Pub freehold going concern finance: a lender values the property and the business separately. How the split works, from a $695,000 country pub to a $24m hotel.GuideJonathan Chan · Oct 2026 · 6 min read

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Monthly commentary on commercial property, acquisition finance and what we're seeing in the market. No noise.

The full archive.

Every newsletter, data story, market note and case study, newest first.

MonthKindTitle
Oct 2026Market noteOffice vacancy is at a 30-year high, and lenders have changed how they read an office building.
Oct 2026Data story · interactiveBanks earn a wider margin on business lending than on home loans. Here's what the gap pays for.
Sep 2026Data story · interactiveRetail yields sit at or above industrial in four of five capitals, by up to 88 basis points in Adelaide. Melbourne is the exception.
Sep 2026Data story · interactiveDo you need property to buy a business?
Sep 2026Data story · interactiveThe RBA has held since May. The BBSW rate under your business loan has climbed 29 basis points.
Sep 2026Lenders are competing again, a bathhouse opens its doors, and where SMSF money is heading
Sep 2026Data story · interactiveBusiness borrowers set a record buying property. Households pulled back.
Sep 2026Prices easing, auctions steady: reading the spring market
Aug 2026A generational wave of business exits, and what the SMSF ban leaves open
Aug 2026Prices easing, rents climbing, and why units are outgrowing houses
Aug 2026Data story · interactiveEveryone has a view on property since the budget. We watched 13 Saturdays of auctions instead.
Jul 2026Data story · interactiveHow much debt can an acquisition actually carry?
Jul 2026More funding routes, the real divide in commercial property, and personal guarantees explained
Jul 2026A cooler auction market, a longer view, and a refinance about more than the rate
Jul 2026Data story · interactiveAustralian property market 2026: one number, eight markets
Jul 2026Data story · interactiveAustralia is building more homes than ever. So why are rents still rising?
Jun 2026The budget conversation, the auction room, and a sharp ETA insight
Jun 2026Three rate rises, and the budget's reset to property tax
Jun 2026Market noteThe outlook for Australia remains intact over the long term
May 2026Confidence cracks, and what to expect from the May RBA
May 2026A third rate move, and what it means for repayments
May 2026Leadership when the playbook is being rewritten
May 2026What landed on Tuesday night's federal budget, and the parts the headlines missed
May 2026Data story · interactiveFederal Budget 2026-27, decoded for the people who actually have to live with it
May 2026Tuesday night's federal budget: scenarios and probabilities
Apr 2026Why more people are buying businesses instead of starting them
Apr 2026Market noteMelbourne commercial property: what the price headlines are missing
Apr 2026What the April rate move means for your home loan
Apr 2026Market noteRecord migration, surging approvals, and what's actually happening to property demand
Apr 2026Market noteHow we're thinking about AI at FGO Finance Group
Feb 2026Market noteWhat the RBA rate rise means if you're financing right now
Jan 2026Market note5 key trends shaping business lending in 2026
Nov 2025Case studyHow we helped 3 businesses scale through strategic finance
Sep 2025Market noteReflections from the ETA conference in Sydney

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