Housing Minister Michael Sukkar urged first-home buyers to try and grab a property now before the introduction of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme in 2020.
“If you’ve got an opportunity to get a foot in the market before then, you should take it, given I think the market is starting to improve. People who buy now, I don’t think, will regret it at all,” Sukkar told The Australian.
The Minister spoke as the government polishes the loan scheme, which will enable first-time buyers to purchase a house with as little as a 5% deposit.
The market conditions were possibly the “best ever” for first-home buyers, according to independent property economist Andrew Wilson.
“It’s a very good scenario for first-home buyers. They’ve still got those stamp duty concessions in NSW and Victoria, where they don’t have to pay stamp duty on a house worth $600,000 in Victoria, and $650,000 in NSW,” Wilson said.
Markets, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, were “feeling the bottom” but would soon rise up, according to Wilson.
The Morrison government also put more “confidence” in the market, according to Sukkar.
“We’re seeing green shoots in Melbourne and Sydney in the last quarter and I think with low-interest rates, with APRA reducing serviceability buffers, all those factors combined to confirm that optimism,” Sukkar said.
Ninety-one percent of first-home buyers believed owning a property is now within reach, compared to only 80% the same time last year, according to The Commonwealth Bank (CommBank).
