Nine out of 10 people surveyed agreed property prices were becoming unaffordable.

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.

Of those polled, 9.8 per cent said they had purchased a property during the COVID-19 pandemic and 27.6per cent said they are considering buying within the next 12 months.

Almost a third of respondents (32.9 per cent) are “very worried” that the current housing market is out of the reach of ordinary Australians.
And 39.3per cent said they “worried”, bringing the total of those concerned to almost three-quarters at 72.2 per cent.

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). A total of 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.
When asked why property has become so out of reach, 26 per cent cite foreign ownership as the reason, followed by record low-interest rates (20.3 per cent) and an oversaturated investment market (18.6 per cent).

A total of 33.9 per cent of people said the end of JobKeeper/Seeker stimulus will force down prices when asked if the measures had any impact on the real estate market.

Further, 29.8 per cent said they were prepared to devote 20 per cent of household income to home loan repayments, 25.7per cent said 30m per cent and a staggering 20.6 per cent said more than 30 per cent.

Devoting more than 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.

Savvy managing director Bill Tsouvalas says this 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,” Mr Tsouvalas said.

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

Of those surveyed, 27 per cent 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.

The full survey can be viewed at Savvy’s website.