Homebuyers intending to enter the property market in the near future continue to worry about the debt they will have to take on, scraping together the deposit and house prices rising out of reach, but levels of confidence are slightly higher than 12 months ago.
A recent BankWest/Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) study revealed half of them are seriously considering renting for the time being to maintain their lifestyle.
Phil Naylor, CEO of the MFAA said that the survey indicated an increasing number of those who wanted to buy are agonising over whether to make the necessary sacrifices in lifestyle.
"Those in this category have risen by 6.7 per cent over the past 12 months. It appears some of the effects of generational shift may be hitting the market, with a sizeable portion of the market choosing lifestyle over buying their first home in a less desirable suburb."
"On the other hand, we are seeing less concern amongst all intending first home buyers about the threat of rising interest rates, (30 per cent worried vs. 41 per cent previously) and less concern about taking on debt (66 vs. 79 per cent), accumulating a deposit (56 vs.70 per cent), and rising property prices (66 vs. 70 per cent)," he commented.
Phil Colton, Head of Broker Sales at BankWest, said the research indicated that 69.6 per cent of potential first home buyers don't intend to enter the market for another 12 months and of those that do, older buyers aged 30-39 (41.7 per cent) are more likely to enter the market in the next 12 months than buyers aged 29 and under (36.9 per cent).
"Victorians (36 per cent) and South Australians (47 per cent) are more confident they will enter the market in the next 12 months than those in other states, indicating that there may be better value in those states," he said.
23.7 per cent of respondents to the questionnaire were under 29 years old, and 22.1 per cent of respondents are earning less than $55,000 household income, accurately capturing the traditional first homebuyer demographic.
