First home buyers drop in number
By
Andrea Lavigne
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11/11/2009 7:38:00 AM
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The gradual withdrawal of government incentives has resulted in a sharp fall in first home buyer activity.
AFG's Mortgage Index revealed that the total volumes of home loans to first home buyers plunged from $489m in September to $357m in October.
The drop in activity contributed to a total overall month-on-month contraction in the mortgage market of 11.5%, with mortgages arranged by AFG falling from $2.9bn in September to $2.6bn in October.
"Most people were expecting a fall in first home buyer activity, so the decline, in itself, comes as no surprise. But the fact that the rate rise cycle kicked in at the same time delivers something of a double-whammy. With the second rate rise announced last week we're expecting that there will be continued caution on the part of buyers," said Mark Hewitt, general manager of sales and operations.
The decline of first home buyers was strongest in WA, where the volume fell by 35.5%. In Queensland the fall was 27.6%, New South Wales 26.2%, Victoria 22.3% and South Australia 13.1%.
Related stories:
First home buyers remain resilient: RAMS - New research by RAMS Home Loans suggests the majority of first home buyers would remain in the market regardless of the FHOG Boose - even if interest rates were higher than at present
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Michael on
09 Dec 2009 01:18 PM
The few remaining opportunities for first homebuyers and rapidly diminishing.