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Date Published : Thursday, July 24, 2008
The number of first-time buyers entering the property market dropped by almost ten per cent over the decade to 2005-06, new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show.
According to ABS Social Trends 2008 report cited by the Daily Telegraph, 15 per cent of new property owners were first-time buyers over the period - down from the previous level of 23 per cent.
At the same time, the report said, the amount needed to secure a first home doubled, with the average home loan topping $213,000 by the end of the decade.
Many of those who could afford to buy had to downsize their aspirations as a result and sales of the traditional quarter-acre block declined over the ten-year period, while purchases of smaller apartments and townhouses rose to account for 27 per cent of all deals.
Furthermore, figures from Mortgage Choice show that despite the Reserve Bank's increasing interest rates four times in the past year, many homebuyers are shunning fixed-rate mortgages in favour of variable arrangements.
The poll says fixed-rate home loans accounted for 13 per cent of new mortgages in June, down from 38 per cent in February.
Standard variable-rate home loans, meanwhile, constituted 51 per cent of the month's new approvals, compared to a 12-month average of 41 per cent.
Mortgage Choice's Warren O'Rourke said: "There is no doubt that the higher pricing of fixed rates weighed heavily against demand."
However, with many lenders increasing their borrowing rates above the Bank's level, consumers who do not shop around be stung by a variable-rate deal.
Higher mortgage rates and stalling construction also mean the rental market offers consumers little relief, with a separate study from the Australian Property Monitors showing rental levels have increased by 25 per cent during the past year.
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