Latest News
First-home buyers set record
Thursday, February 18, 2010
FIRST-HOME buyers leapt to the highest level on record during last year, with 191,000 Australians taking their first step on the property ladder.
Last year saw almost 70,000 more first-home buyers pile into the market than in 2008, a 55 per cent leap, according to property research firm RP Data.
The jump is directly linked to the government doubling the first-home buyers grant to $14,000 for existing dwellings and increasing the handout to $21,000 for new dwellings. The grant boost was phased back in December, The Australian reported.
The government's boosted grant was announced in October 2008, providing a stimulus during the global financial crisis.
But adding to the equation was interest rates at 49-year lows.
Cameron Kusher of RP Data said the month that recorded the highest owner-occupier finance commitments was May, when 28.8 per cent of the commitments were from first-home buyers.
"During 2009, owner-occupiers took out finance for approximately 739,000 dwellings, of which 26 per cent was taken out by first-home buyers and the remaining 74 per cent came from non-first-home buyers," Mr Kusher said.
"It's no real surprise that first-home buyers were so active during 2009, given that the government was
offering the First Home Owners Grant Boost."
Western Australia was the most popular state for first-home buyers last year. State government incentives of low or no stamp duty also boosted the market, as did a softening in property values during 2008.
Mr Kusher said that between 1992 and 2009 there was an average of just over 116,000 first-home buyers annually.
"Not only was the level of activity during 2009 the highest on record, it was 64 per cent greater than the long-term average level of activity," he said.
During December last year, after the first-home buyers grant had been reduced, first-home buyers made up 21 per cent of the owner-occupier market, just 1 per cent higher than the historical average.
"We would expect that during 2010 they will sit at a similar, if not lower, level than the historical average," Mr Kusher said.
"By anticipating that first-home buyers will at least fall back to historic average levels during 2010, we expect to see a turnaround in rental markets, with higher rents throughout the year, and expect that with less competition, investors will become more active in the marketplace."
On a state-by-state basis, the second-greatest proportion of home loans for first-home buyers was found in Victoria (26.9 per cent), followed by NSW (26.8 per cent).
The markets that had the lowest proportion of first-home buyers during 2009 were South Australia (20.6 per cent), Northern Territory (21.1 per cent) and the ACT (22 per cent).
- The Australian
News Archive
Negative Gearing Here to Stay
12 Aug 2010
The federal government and the federal opposition party have ruled out the prospect of abolishing ...
Rental Growth Flat for Houses, Solid for Apartments
11 Aug 2010
After showing signs of growth recovery in the March quarter, national rental growth for houses rem...
Rate rises hurt house price growth
29 Apr 2010
House price growth is expected to slow in 2010 after exceptionally strong annual g...
Govt backflips over foreign investment laws
27 Apr 2010
The federal government’s decision to reinstate the foreign investment guidelines has bee...
Draft tenancy laws anger agents
18 Mar 2010
Agents are concerned that if the state government passes the proposed NSW residential tenancy laws...