There are possible signs of early ‘green shoots’ among Australia’s first time buyers with almost 95,000 purchases made in the year to August 2017, the highest figure since June 2015.
A new national report from Bankwest reveals there were 94,135 first homes bought in the year to August 2017, a year on year increase of 5.6%. This figure accounts for 14.3% of all purchases over the same period.
Despite these encouraging signs and a slightly cooling property market, the 2017 Bankwest First Time Buyers Report shows the amount of time Australian first time buyers will take to save for a deposit is still on the increase. The report shows first time home buyer couples (FTB) will have to save for an average of 4.6 years to accumulate the $111,080 needed for a 20 per cent house deposit on a median priced home. This is three months longer than in 2016 (4.4 years) and a $7,173 increase on the $103,907 deposit required last year.
Bankwest’s First Time Buyers Report 2017 reveals where it will take first home buyer couples the longest and shortest saving times to gather 20 per cent house deposits.