Over 50% of young Australians are saving their own way into their first home, according to new research from Great Southern Bank.
The customer-owned bank, previously known as Credit Union Australia, surveyed a thousand new home buyers and prospective buyers to discover how they were funding their entry into the property market, with surprising results.
While many would expect that young Aussies were drawing from the Bank of Mum & Dad, only 5% had used their parents or inheritance to fund their first home.
Half of homeowners and 39% of prospective buyers simply saved their way to a deposit, making lifestyle changes to get to their magic number.
Government incentives also played a role: 19% of homeowners and 31% of wannabe buyers said they were savvy with their money to get ahead, with more than half of this cohort resorting to government help.
“Often, it’s the simple things that turn out to work the best,” said Megan Keleher, Chief Customer Officer at Great Southern Bank. “Over half of the survey respondents said they stuck to a strict budget or tracked all of their spending and saving on a weekly or monthly basis.”
“But that doesn’t mean going without – less than one in ten were willing to stop socialising while saving for their deposit. Instead they save money in other ways such as switching modes of transport, choosing cheaper options at the supermarket, or strategically holding back on some spending so they can splurge on big ticket items or events.”
Government incentives were a serious help, according to Keleher.
“Research we conducted last year actually saw almost a fifth of first homebuyers saying government initiatives had helped them buy a home before they thought they could, or helped them buy a bigger property than they thought was feasible,” she said.
Customer-owned banks such as Great Southern Bank were well positioned to help first time buyers.
“As customer-owned, we invest everything back into the bank, meaning it’s our customers who benefit from any profit we make,” said Keleher.
“We focus squarely on what services our customers want and need, and with our renewed commitment to helping all Australians own their own home, we’ve developed a few new products and offers with young, potential homeowners in mind.”
“This includes The Vault, which essentially hides your deposit savings so you aren’t tempted to spend it, or giving young buyers a boost through the $2,000 Great Start Promotion on our home loan.”
