A significant proportion of first home buyers in Australia believe government support for those attempting to enter the property market is insufficient.
Figures from
Mortgage Choice’s latest annual First Home Buyer Survey show that 64.4% of first home buyers who purchased within the last 24 months would have bought sooner if they had received more financial assistance.
When asked if they believed there was currently enough government assistance offered to first home buyers, 57.3% of respondents said ‘no’.
Mortgage Choice chief executive officer John Flavell said the survey results show that many Australian’s feel home ownership is becoming increasingly unattainable and that policy makers need to be doing more than using housing affordability as means of scoring political points.
“The government has actively spoken about the ongoing issue of housing affordability in a lot of public forums,” Flavell said.
“But while there is a lot of talk about housing affordability and its impact on the broader community, there is next to no action. I believe the time for political grandstanding has come to an end and it is now time to act.”
According to the survey, nearly half of respondents (47.4%) believe stamp duty should be abolished to assist first home buyers, while 35.5% believe first home buyer grants for established properties should be reintroduced.
With the current low interest rate environment predicted to continue to keep heat in housing market, Flavell said even a quick look at Australian property can illustrate why first home buyers would like some assistance.
“Across the combined capital cities, property prices rose 8.3% over the last financial year. Sydney and Melbourne were the standout performers, with the two cities recording property price growth of 11.3% and 11.5% respectively,” he said.
“Across Australia, there is only one capital city that doesn’t boast a median dwelling price above $400,000. With that said, it is easy to see why so many first home buyers struggle to get a foot on the property ladder.”
