Investors are coming out in force again, with mortgage broker company Australian Finance Group (AFG) processing more home loans last month than any January before.

The AFG mortgage index shows the company processed $2.2 billion of home loans, a massive 24 per cent more than in January 2012.

Not surprisingly, the strongest demand was from two of the strongest states at the moment, Western Australia ($583 million) and New South Wales ($569 million).

General manager of sales and operations ...

The latest ATO SMSF statistics make for interesting reading.

The number of new funds established for the 11/12 year was 36,270, the highest in 5 years and the second highest ever. The number of windups for the same period was 994, the lowest ever by nearly 4,000. This makes the net growth of SMSFs in 2011/2012 nearly 3,000 per month and confirms the increasing popularity of this type of superannuation arrangement.

The total number of ...

While it's hard to predict where the housing market will head beyond 2012, there are some clear signals that investing in property will remain a solid option for long-term wealth generation - and now is a great time to buy.

One of the key factors to consider is the demand for housing. Right now, Australia faces a housing shortage, with home ownership on the decline and renting on the rise. While some argue it's partly due to people marrying ...