 Now is the time to buy
Interest from first home buyers has increased dramatically during the recent rate cuts with Queensland topping the table. According to AFG's latest mortgage index, first home buyer loan
volumes increased 152% in the past three months (from $57m to $144 m).
Victoria was up by 120% (from $43m to $95m) and New South Wales rose
113% from $60m to $128m.
Interest rates cuts in September, October, November, and December have slashed 300 basis points off home loan interest rates, and with the boost to the first home buyer grant and falling property prices, first home buyers are beginning to find buying a home more affordable.
Mark Hewitt, general manager sales and operations at AFG said: “In
many ways there has never been a better time to buy a first home."
In November, the government announced the grant would be doubled to
$14,000 for those buying an established home, while those buying a
newly constructed home would receive $21,000 as a one off grant
designed to help first home buyer afford their own home.
And
recent figures shows that property prices are falling nationwide also.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that house prices
dropped by 1.8% in the September quarter.
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