Opportunity beckons for first homebuyers
Posted on Feb 10, 2009 at 01:17 PM
Conditions are primed for first homebuyers to enter the market and those with job confidence will move ahead to take advantage of it, according to a mortgage broker.
Kristy Sheppard of Mortgage Choice says the pros of buying now include the grants on offer, less buyer competition, the rental squeeze, falling interest rates and property prices.
As the economic downturn continues, she says first homebuyers will weigh these up with the cons of buying, including job instability, falling property prices and availability of finance.
Loan applications by first homebuyers have clearly increased since the First Home Owners Boost was announced in October and Sheppard says it wouldn’t be surprising if the Federal Government extended it by another six months.


“Certainly there is a lot of call for it from a range of industry participants,” she says.
“First homebuyers are being targeted because they will be new entrants to the property market, providing greater stimulation to that sector and the economy than those who are already active participants in the property market.”
While Sheppard says now is the perfect time for first homebuyers to enter the market, it’s important for them to make sure they can service a mortgage a couple of years down the track.
“The boost and other incentives can better allow them to take out a mortgage but they also need to remember to allow for interest rate and fee rises over the longer term plus any changes to their financial circumstances in the future,” she says.
Last year Australians were mostly worried about interest rates but that is no longer the case according to a recent consumer sentiment survey conducted for Mortgage Choice.
It found the primary concern for Australians at the moment is job security.
Twenty per cent of respondents said employment was their main concern, followed by economic management at the Federal Government level and other costs of living.
Last year interest rates were the biggest concern, followed by Federal Government economic management, petrol prices, job security and a fall in housing prices.Order your copy of API’s First Homebuyers Guide ebook for information on how to make your first purchase at www.apimagazine.com.au/ebooks