EXISTING HOMES REMAIN FIRST HOME BUYERS PREFERENCE

The latest data from the State Government confirms first home buyer’s preferences for established homes over newly constructed ones. Twenty seven per cent of all purchases made with government financial assistance over the last 12 months have been for new homes.

There is no doubt the financial assistance has been welcomed by not only the first home buyers but also vendors and builders.

The State Government has reported that over the last 12 months there have been 44,668 homes sold to first home buyers and that 12,229 of those have received the higher levels of assistance for new homes. Of those, 580 or 11 per cent have gone to buyers in regional Victoria in the last month.

Over this time the total number of loans taken out by first home buyers has increased from 21 per cent in September last year to 27 per cent this September, an improvement that is as a direct result of the government financial assistance and record low interest rates.

In October the financial assistance dropped, by $3,500 for an established home and by $7,000 for a new home. The REIV expects that will be reflected in the Australian Bureau of Statistics October Housing Finance figures that are due on the 9^th of December.

Prospective first home buyers need to be aware that the financial assistance will drop again on the 31^st of December. At that time the total assistance available for purchasing an established home will drop from $12,500 to $9,000. For those buying a new home in the Melbourne metropolitan area it drops from $25,000 to $18,000 and those buying a new home in a regional area it drops from $29,500 to $22,500.

More details on eligibility for the financial assistance can be found at www.sro.gov.au.

RENTAL VACANCY RATES IN OUTER SUBURBS TIGHTEN

The rental vacancy rate remains very low right across Victoria, according to the REIV October rental vacancy rates survey.

REIV CEO Enzo Raimondo said that the vacancy rate in Melbourne remained low, but reasonably stable, at 1.4 per cent. The availability of vacancies has halved in the outer suburbs, from 1.2 per cent in September to 0.6 per cent.

“The availability of rental homes has not improved in three years and shows no sign of improving in the near future.

“There is only one solution to the issue; to accommodate our growing population we need to build more homes where people want to live. For some, that is in the growing outer suburbs but for others it is in established inner-city suburbs.

“Unless the rate of dwelling commencements increases soon the vacancy rate will contract further as our population increases.

“Melbourne’s middle suburbs had the highest vacancy rate at 1.9 per cent, still well below a balanced market of three per cent.

“A similar situation exists in the key regional centers: Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat. In each case the vacancy rate is worse than in Melbourne, with Bendigo REIV Members reporting practically no vacancies,” Mr. Raimondo concluded.

Articles taken from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s website www.reiv.com.au