First home study makes interesting reading

This research, commissioned by Westpac in September this year, surveyed over 1,000 Australian home owners and first home buyers, and compared the results with data from previous years.

According to the findings of this year’s report, first-home buyers are becoming increasingly prepared to compromise on fashionable neighbourhoods, safe streets, and proximity to work and public transport in order to get their foot on the property ladder.

The report found that terms like ‘trendy’, ‘safe’ or even ‘close to work’ and ‘close to public transport’ are not as important to home buyers as they have been.

The study found that 67% of homebuyers said safety was important to them when deciding where to buy, which was down from 73% last year. Access to public transport was important for 37% of this year’s buyers, down from 47% in 2016. Even more dramatic was the fact that only 3% of first home buyers said living in a trendy area was important to them. This question drew a 15% response just a year ago!

Another finding was that the percentage of buyers who said that living in a quiet area was important had dropped from 56% to 36% in the space of 12 months.

In case you’re wondering, the factors that have become increasingly important to first home buyers included internal features like modern kitchens and bathrooms. Maybe a few reality TV programs like ‘The Block’ have impacted on this?

Clearly this increased flexibility on location is having an impact, as recent figures show that home loans to first home buyers rose to a four year high of 17.4% in September this year, assisted by the increased government incentives which came into effect on July 1st.

Whether you are a first home buyer or someone planning the sale of your last home, keep in mind that our team at Barry Plant Preston are always happy to provide advice and assistance on ant real estate matter. So, feel free to give us a call.