If you’re like us, it’s after the hubbub of Christmas that real downtime kicks in.

That’s when we start to shift focus to the year ahead and ask the kind of questions that create change.

A new study by economists from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has found that a deposit is a key factor when it comes to home ownership success, especially for first homebuyers.

We’ve taken time to explain the main takeaways from the report, and provide insights into how you can improve your chances of becoming a homeowner.

AFL draft week may have come and gone, but there has been an arguably, even bigger pick made. The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) was recently announced, and since then, we have seen a trickle of information around it come through to the market. It has now been announced that NAB bank has been named as the first of the two major lenders that will sit on the panel of the scheme.