Australia's housing market has boomed over the past 2 years and has experienced record growth despite the pandemic. However with prices forecasted to fall through 2022 and home loan rates rising for the first time in over a decade, we may soon witness a market downturn. Owner occupier lending is already starting to slow, particularly among first home buyers who typically have lower budgets and are more sensitive to house prices.
Finder's First Home Buyers Report shines a light on the attitudes and experiences of first home buyers. We conducted a survey of 1,001 first home buyers to find out their preferences, fears and budgeting decisions, and we also draw on our First Home Buyer Report 2021 to compare how the behaviour of new home owners has changed over the past year.
First home buyers prefer houses (70%) to apartments (16%)
1 in 8 buyers are searching interstate
1 in 6 gen Z buyers are buying an investment property
The number of buyers who plan to renovate immediately has halved since 2021 (22% to 11%)
37% of buyers exceed their budget
COVID-19 lockdowns helped 1 in 4 first home buyers save
Nearly 1 in 3 are buying now because they fear rising property prices
1 in 2 buyers face unexpected costs during the purchase process
37% of buyers will be worried if their interest rate rises
Qualifying for a loan and having bad neighbours are buyers' top fears
Property prices have consistently outpaced wages
Property affordability has been a hot topic over the past 2 years, particularly when it comes to first home buyers. Since 2002, residential house prices have grown by 276%, while wages have increased by just 77%. In 2021 alone, house prices grew by 28%, compared to just 1.5% for wages. The growing gap between wages and house prices highlights the challenge today's first home buyers face in saving a deposit and financing a mortgage.
Sophie Wallis is a senior insights analyst with a passion for data storytelling. She spends her time turning complex data into digestible stories and uncovering new consumer trends. When she isn't working, you'll find her planning her next overseas holiday or bingeing on a big novel. Sophie has a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Melbourne.
How likely would you be to recommend finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Important information about this website
finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stands by our editorial principles
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
We make money by featuring products on our site. Compensation received from the providers featured on our site can influence which products we write about as well as where and how products appear on our page, but the order or placement of these products does not influence our assessment or opinions of them, nor is it an endorsement or recommendation for them.
Products marked as 'Top Pick', 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product. You can learn more about how we make money.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
Australia's housing market has boomed over the past 2 years and has experienced record growth despite the pandemic. However with prices forecasted to fall through 2022 and home loan rates rising for the first time in over a decade, we may soon witness a market downturn. Owner occupier lending is already starting to slow, particularly among first home buyers who typically have lower budgets and are more sensitive to house prices.