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Despite low buying levels for first home buyers in 2012, they have been the most active segment of the market for finance enquiries to start 2013, according to one leading aggregator.
Loan Market corporate spokesperson, Paul Smith, says that for the first six weeks of 2013, first home buyers have represented 51% of all enquires for the services of a mortgage broker.
“We've had nearly four years where first home buyers have been a secondary market to owner occupied purchases and investors, but as the prospect pool of buyers grows larger, so does the likelihood that we see the return of first time purchasers.”
Smith says many of the past growth spurts for first home buyers were caused by state-based government policies being added or removed, but that this increase in enquires was for first time purchasers planning to get into the market in 2013.
#pb# “The main issues that first home buyers have to overcome are usually their deposit size and matching their borrowing capacity to the type of house they’d like to purchase. However, many of the prospective first time buyers we are seeing now have [a] significant deposit saved.”
He says the returns on savings deposits have been falling over the past several months as well and don’t generate the same returns as the early months of 2012.
Smith says that, while it was encouraging to see a lift in the demand to purchase property for first home buyers, they will likely remain cautious buyers over the next several months.
“These are smart buyers who are waiting for the right conditions to buy in. With low interest rates, especially for fixed products, there’s an added incentive for prospective buyers to start shopping around. Many of them are taking up pre-approvals that allow them to shop around for months knowing that their finances are in order if they do decide to purchase.”
