 First home buyers market collapses
The end of the first-home owners grant, coupled with unrelenting interest rate hikes concludes into the collapse of Western Australia’s first home buyers market.
Data released by the Office of State Revenue reveals the lowest number of first home buyers in 10 years -- there were only 988 first-home buyers in the month of April this year, compared with 2322 same month in 2009.
These figures reflect Westpac Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index which reveals a fall in consumer confidence from 116.1 points to 108 points.
"The FHOG boost was great," said Real Estate Institute of Western Australia research director Stewart Darby. "It soaked up a lot of excess housing. But the major point is it operated in both established and new home markets, and it really pulled a lot buyers forward.”
There was a 15 per cent drop in Perth home sales in April, while unsold properties climbed from 12,700 to 13,400 from end of March to present.
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