First home buyers come back into the market

Following the introduction of concessions in NSW and Victoria for first-time buyers, it seems more purchasers are emerging in both states.

The latest data out of Corelogic shows that there were 10,227 owner occupier first home buyer finance commitments in August 2017 – that’s the greatest number we’ve seen since December 2009 and it represents 17.2 per cent of all owner occupier housing finance commitments, which is the highest proportion since July 2013.

According to the research, a key driver in the surge is the changes in first home buyer policies in our two biggest property markets, Sydney and Melbourne. This includes government concessions in Stamp Duty introduced in July 2017. 

As a result, between June and August, the number of first home buyer housing finance commitments  increased by 59 per cent in NSW and 34 per cent in Victoria. Corelogic states that this data highlights the fact that stamp duty is one of the key barriers for first home buyers looking to get a foot in the housing market, at least in the bigger markets of NSW and Victoria.

Outside of these two states, first home buyers generally represent larger proportion of the owner occupier market, and Corelogic says this suggests housing affordability outside of Sydney and Melbourne has held first home buyer demand comparatively high.