Mark Bristow is RateCity's Home & Personal Finances Editor, and an experienced analyst, researcher, and producer. While primarily focused on Australian mortgage and home loan expertise, he has experience across energy, home and travel insurances. Mark has been a journalist and writer in the financial space for over ten years, previously researching and writing commercial real estate at CoreLogic. In the years since, Mark has worked for the Winning Group, Expedia, and has seen articles published at Lifehacker and Business Insider. Mark has also completed RG 146 (Tier 1), making him compliant to provide general advice for general insurance products like car, home, travel and health insurance, as well as giving him knowledge of investment options such as shares, derivatives, futures, managed investments, currencies and commodities.
1050 articles written by Mark Bristow

App-using bank customers more likely to share the love
Do you mostly do your banking on an app? If you do, you may be more likely to be satisfied with your bank, and more likely to recommend their services to a friend, according to a new study.

Mark Bristow -
03 Mar, 2018 -
2 min read

DIY super making money for the wealthy, leading to losses for battlers
Australians wanting to take a “do it yourself” approach to their superannuation may be better served by a self-managed super fund (SMSF) if they already have healthy retirement savings available, while those with smaller super balances may not get the best returns from a SMSF, according to a new report.

Mark Bristow -
28 Feb, 2018 -
2 min read

Home buyers overlooking property problems
Nearly one in four Australian home buyers has experienced buyer’s remorse after purchasing their property, with a significant percentage overlooking potentially expensive issues when inspecting their property, according to new research from ME Bank.

Mark Bristow -
26 Feb, 2018 -
3 min read

Bank super returns lag behind not-for-profit funds
If your superannuation is held by a bank-owned fund, the value of your retirement savings may not have grown at the same rate as a not-for-profit fund, according to new data.

Mark Bristow -
23 Feb, 2018 -
2 min read

Is your home loan in one of Australia's top performing suburbs?
If you have a mortgage in Cockatoo, Victoria, your investment may be performing well, according to CoreLogic. The town in the Dandenong Ranges has topped the new CoreLogic Top Performing Suburbs Report, based on its consistent capital growth, and leads a strong contingent of Victorian towns and suburbs.

Mark Bristow -
22 Feb, 2018 -
3 min read

First home buyers taking the place of property investors
The investors abandoning the Australian housing market are being replaced by first home buyers, according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA).

Mark Bristow -
21 Feb, 2018 -
2 min read

Could interest rate rises put Australia's economy in mortgage stress?
The risk that household debt and mortgage stress represents to Australia’s wider financial stability may be smaller than expected, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), though a percentage of owner occupiers and investors could be impacted by changes to economic conditions, with the risk to investors expected to increase over the coming years.

Mark Bristow -
20 Feb, 2018 -
5 min read

Cheaper car loans fail to offset rising transport costs
Australia’s transport costs were up over the 2017 December quarter, with rises to the cost of fuel, tolls and insurance outpacing falls in the cost of car loans, servicing and registration, according to the Australian Automobile Association (AAA).

Mark Bristow -
19 Feb, 2018 -
3 min read

Will South Australia stay strong through 2018?
South Australia’s property market experienced a strong finish to 2017, according to new figures from the Real Estate Institute of South Australia (REISA), though housing affordability remains an important issue.

Mark Bristow -
13 Feb, 2018 -
2 min read

Set financial goals and talk them through, says NAB
If you struggle to achieve your financial goals, maybe you should try discussing them with the person who knows you best – yourself. According to a new study from National Australia Bank (NAB), Australians that talk to themselves about their financial goals are 29% more likely to achieve them than those who don’t.

Mark Bristow -
12 Feb, 2018 -
2 min read