Survey shows mixed ideas about market

A RECENT survey conducted by Savvy has revealed 91.6 per cent of Australians agree that property prices are becoming “unaffordable” in the current market.

The survey polled 905 Australians about their attitudes and behaviours regarding housing affordability.

While 9.8 per cent of those polled said they had purchased a property during the COVID-19 pandemic, 27.6 per cent said they are considering buying within the next twelve months.

Almost a third of respondents are “very worried” that the current housing market is out of the reach of ordinary Australians, with 39.3 per cent saying they “worried”, bringing the total of those concerned to almost three-quarters: 72.2 per cent.

Savvy managing director Bill Tsouvalas said the results should be cause for concern.

“We’ve had a general feeling that the housing market is out of reach for Australians, but it seems that COVID-19 and other measures such as HomeBuilder and the First Home Buyer Deposit Scheme has still left most would-be home buyers worried if they don’t buy now, they’ll be shut out forever,” he said.

The main reason respondents cited for holding off on buying is that they are still saving for a deposit (33.2 per cent) followed by general housing unaffordability (32.4 per cent) and 14.6 per cent of respondents said they were waiting to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic.

This leaves many would-be home buyers in a double bind, as 28.6 per cent say that they’re concerned if they don’t buy soon, they’ll be left behind.

Devoting over 30 per cent of household income toward mortgage repayments is considered “mortgage stress” in the finance industry and 26.9 per cent of those surveyed said they are currently experiencing mortgage stress.

“The fact that almost a third of people are in mortgage stress is also alarming; it could be prelude to a much bigger crash,” Mr Tsouvalas said.

At the same time 27 per cent of people said they would save more of a deposit to secure their place in the property market; 23.7 per cent said they’re waiting for a price crash and 21 per cent are prepared to relocate in a regional or rural area.