Want to buy a house?
Most would say ‘lol, good luck’, but that doesn’t necessarily need to be the case; if you know what you’re doing and take the time to plan.
One of the big wigs at Aussie Home Loans has some insights into new research that’s come out, highlighting the impact of confusion and uncertainty on the ability of aspiring first home buyers to realise their property ownership ambitions; with the array of grants and schemes intended to create greater opportunity seemingly adding to the complexity.
Turns out 7-in-10 first home buyers want to take advantage of the current market conditions but don’t know how – and have a small freak out because of it.
It’s hard to understand and even more difficult to get the confidence to bite the bullet, despite heaps of initiatives being developed to help first home buyers get on the property ladder.
But it doesn’t need to be this way.
As part of a new haul of research Aussie’s done, there’s a lot to know about looking before you leap and that comes in the form of a friendly little scheme by the government. Read on for more.
As the next round of 10,000 applications under the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) for the next financial year becomes available, enabling first home buyers to put down just 5 percent of the deposit needed, the findings showed a worryingly high proportion of first home buyers – over 8 in 10 – are not clear on what the scheme is, and if eligible could be missing out on this opportunity.
The research also revealed that building savings is a priority for 71 percent of first home buyers, surpassing exercising and eating more healthily (58%), and even spending time with family and friends (42%). With nearly half (46%) of first home buyers saying building savings is now more important than before COVID-19.
This shift in priorities for first home buyers shows a commitment to taking advantage of the current housing opportunities, but confusion is still rife with 5 in 6 first home buyers admitting they want more financial guidance and most (67%) intend to use a broker to achieve their property goals.
That is supported by recent Aussie customer data, which shows that first home buyer enquiries with Aussie have more than doubled relative to the same time last year and are currently at an all-time high.
“Buying a home is likely to be one of the biggest financial decisions of someone’s life but with so much confusion out there, first home buyers have been coming to Aussie in droves in recent weeks to help tackle their information overload and get a better grip on the current market opportunity and what it means for them,”David Smith, Aussie Home Loans’ chief customer officer, said.
“We expect this trend to continue as home loan experts, like Aussie Brokers, help first home buyers to cut through the confusion, explore their options and find a good deal for their circumstances.”
“Getting on the property ladder is within arm’s reach for anyone if they dedicate themselves to growing their savings, but confusion around what can help Australians get there more quickly and easily is stopping many aspiring first home buyers from achieving their goals.”
The new allocation of 10,000 positions of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme are available through both major and non-major lenders from Wednesday 1 July 2020 and enables first home buyers to purchase a home with as little as just a 5 percent deposit. First home buyers may also be eligible to access other state government grants or incentives to run in parallel.
Read some more of the research findings below.
[1] Research was commissioned by Aussie and conducted by Lonergan Research in accordance with the ISO 20252 standard. The research surveyed 1,024 Australian first home buyers (those who intend to purchase a home within the next 5 years) aged 18+ years between 4 June and 17 June 2020
Summary of research results
- 71% of first home buyers want to take advantage of current property market conditions, but they don’t know how
- 3 in 5 (58%) of first home buyers feel negatively about navigating the mortgage market themselves with feelings of being overwhelmed (17%), confused (13%), anxious (12%) and worried (10%)
- 8 in 10 (85%) of first home buyers do not know what the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme is
- A third (32%) of first home buyers don’t understand any government or state home initiatives
- 71% of first home buyers are prioritising building their deposit savings during recent months
- Only 58% of first home buyersare focused on exercising and eating more healthily
- Only 42% of first home buyersare focused on spending more time with family and friends
- 5 in 6 (84%) of first home buyers want financial guidance
- 66% of first home buyers intend to use a broker to help them attain their property goal
- Nearly half (46%) of first home buyers want more guidance on saving for a home loan deposit
- Three in ten (30%) of first home buyers want expert assurance that they are doing the right thing
- 98% of first home buyers believe there are challenges to achieving buying their first home including half (53%) believing getting a loan is a key challenge
- First home buyer enquiries with Aussie have more than doubled relative to the same time last year and are currently at an all-time high