IN BRIEF

PROPERTY

T

henumberoffirsthomebuyers

in Australiadecreasedby

5.8%in 2018,yetoverallhousing

affordabilitypickedupslightly,

accordingtoanindustryreport.

TheAdelaideBank/REIAHousing

AffordabilityReportforthe

2018 Decemberquartershowed

affordabilityimprovedby0.4%

overtheyear.It saidAustralians’

proportionofincomerequired

tomeetloanrepaymentswas

31.2%,up0.1%forthequarter,

butnonethelessthiswasan

improvementyearonyear.

Housingaffordabilitydeclined

in allstatesandterritoriesexcept

VictoriaandtheNorthernTerritory,

thereportalsoshowed.

DarrenKasehagen,headofthird-

partybankingatAdelaideBank,said

a 3.8%increasein thenumberof

firsthomebuyersduringthequarter

to29,147wastobewelcomed.

“Insomewhatofa turnaround,first

homebuyeractivityin Canberra/

ACThasnotablyincreased– bya

remarkable34%,whichis indicative

ofa gooddealofconfidencein the

localeconomy. Thelargestincrease

in thetotalnumberofloanswasalso

in theACT,up24.1%,leavingNSW

torecordthesmallestincreasein

FHBsat just2%,”hesays.

“Thereportalsorecordedan

increaseof3.3%nationallyin the

numberofloansovertheDecember

quarter,butdespitethisincrease

wearestilllookingata decrease

of9.4%comparedwiththesame

quarterlastyearandwehavealso

seena decreasein averageloansize

tofirsthomebuyersto$337,500.”

Firsthomebuyersnowmakeup

18.1%oftheowner-occupiermarket

and,if refinancingis excluded,

thefigurecurrentlysits at 26.8%,

accordingtothereport.

In NSW,thenumber of loans

tofirsthomebuyersincreased

by6.8%overthequarter to

7634,up1.7%compared with the

2017 Decemberquarter. Victoria

continuestohavethe highest

numberoffirsthome buyer loans

at8855,anincreaseof 2.7% over

thequarterbuta fallof 10.5%

comparedwiththesame period

i n 2 017.

Thenumberofloans to first home

buyersin Queensland was 5664, a

decreaseof5.7%over the quarter

anddown14.4%compared with the

fourthquarterin 2017. Meanwhile,

thenumberofloansto first home

buyersin theACTincreased by 34%

overthequarterto710 but this was

7.3%belowthenumber for the prior

correspondingperiod.

M

ortgagebrokersremain

borrowers’preferredchannel

forsecuringa mortgagedespite

royalcommissionbacklash,

researchbyPeppershows.

Peppersaysthatwhilemortgage

brokersremainhighlysoughtafter,

theymustcloselymonitorissues

concerningprospectiveborrowers

anddevelopsolutions.

Thenon-banklendersurveyed

1126 borrowersinJanuary,before

thebankingroyalcommission’s

finalreport,andfoundthegreatest

concernwasgettingtherighthome

loanfortheircircumstances.

Twoinfiveconsumers(40%)said

thepropertymarketweighsheavily

ontheirminds,especiallyreceiving

a lowvaluation.Borrowersfretted

thatpricescouldpreventthem

climbingthepropertyladder.

Thirty-sevenpercentrankedability

to affordthetypeofpropertythey

wantasa pressingconcern.

Abouta thirdofborrowerswere

worriedaboutbeingdeclinedby

theirbank.“Witha volatileproperty

marketand

pullback

fromthebig

banksin

certainparts

ofthelending

market,

consumerswill

belookingtotrusted

expertsmorethanever to help

themdeterminethebest solution

fortheirsituation,”says Aaron

Milburn,director,sales and

distribution,atPepper.

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PROPERTY

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P56-

FIRST TIMERS

COMPILED BY DARREN SNYDER

Housing affordability

picks up

Borrowers favour mortgage brokers