At a time when home market is cooling, and loans to housing investors, as well as owner-occupiers, are declining, it is important to know that first-time homebuyers have been playing a significant role in sustaining Australia’s housing market in two of the capital cities in the country, Business Insider Australia reported on Friday.
Housing Industry Association (HIA) Senior Economist Shane Garrett said that the first-home buyer share of owner-occupier housing loans increased again during June 2018 and is currently at a height not seen since late 2012.
At the close of June, first-home buyers represented 18.1% of the gains in owner occupier loans.
Further, it was found that they were responsible for driving the prices of cheaper homes higher in Melbourne and Sydney. This was evident in recent Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) figures, which suggest that “the value of cheaper homes is holding up, while more expensive home prices have gone into reverse.”
Explaining this development, Business Insider stated first-home buyers have the financial capacity to access the lower end of the market.
Garrett, meanwhile, identified specific factors that influence the market movement. These included implementations of government directives, as well as the kind of homes available in the market
“Several state governments, including NSW and Victoria, have enhanced their incentives giving the first home buyer segment a new lease of life,” he said.
“In recent years, record numbers of newly built apartments have also come on stream. In terms of design and price point, many of these are particularly suited to first home buyers and have made the purchase of their first home possible.”
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