First home buyers in the driver’s seat
First home buyers accounted for nearly a third of new home sales in the December quarter.
First home buyers accounted for nearly a third of new home sales in the December quarter.The NAB Residential Property Survey has found first home buyers accounted for nearly 29% of owner-occupied new home sales in the December quarter, and 22% of established owner-occupied home sales.
First home buyers appear to be trending toward buying homes to live in rather than as investments. First home buyers buying an investment property fell to 9.9% for new housing and was flat at 9.6% for existing housing.
First-time buyers are flooding back to the market as house prices ease. The latest figures from CoreLogic's Hedonic Home Value Index show capital city home values fell 0.5% over January.
Read our first home buyer guide
NAB has forecast house prices to continue to moderate throughout 2018 and 2019. The bank forecast modest growth of 0.7% for capital city house prices for 2018, followed by 0.8% growth for 2019.
The outlook was even more dire for Sydney, previously the driver behind Australia's property boom. NAB forecast a 2.4% decline for Sydney house prices in 2018, and a further 1.2% drop in 2019.
Need a home loan? Start comparing your options
Latest home loans headlines
Image: Shutterstock
