IF you can afford to do so, there is likely to be no better time to buy your first property. Our new Government, with bipartisan support, has undertaken to ensure that FHB’s can enter the market with as little as 5% deposit, without taking out mortgage insurance. This is to enable them to enter the market without saving up the 20% deposit required to avoid the additional cost of insurance.
So, we can expect a substantial number of FHB’s anxious to take advantage of the opportunity that seemed so far off until just days ago. Whilst limited to 10,000 buyers annually, this scheme will introduce a small flood of buyers into cheaper properties reasonably quickly. Combine this with the accumulated drop in prices over the last 18 months and… well you do the maths. This is a major game-changer.
It is unlikely the general market has reached bottom yet, but markets do not act consistently or smoothly when significant new factors get introduced. Just consider the general 10% odd decline across Melbourne compared to the 25% drop in the more expensive inner and middle suburbs of Melbourne’s east.
If your deposit is still too low, then you may be forced to wait but if you have a reasonable deposit saved already, don’t wait until you start to notice that prices have started to rise again. This current opportunity has been years in the making and it really isn’t rocket science. As the saying goes, nobody rings a bell at the bottom. But from the team at Cooper Newman, ding, ding.
If you would like to be kept up to date with the latest property matters and influences, please like our home page.