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“Not surprising.” That was Mark Bouris’ reaction on Sky News Australia when discussing alarming new numbers that tell a sorry story for first home buyers in Australia.
There are less than half the number of Australian first home buyers than there were just two years ago.
“For the month of February this year, we only had 7,000 new buyers come to the marketplace, when two years ago it was something like fourteen and half thousand,” said Mark Bouris.
Is this just a market trend?
“It’s a result of the interaction between how much money we earn, the affordability issue and the cost of living. There’s quite a complex algorithm sitting in there and it’s not surprising to me whatsoever.”
“Australians, still, though, have a major urge to buy their own property and not be on the rental sort of rental curve for the rest of their life.”
Bouris said that young Australians are entering the workforce on wages that will “never allow them to afford to buy property.”
“The average age of a borrower for property today, compared to say 15 years ago, is 10 years older. So an average borrower today, borrows money around 31 years of age, whereas 10 years ago, they’re borrowing in the 20 to 22 years of age period.”
“So no, it’s not a surprise. Therefore, there are a lot more people in the rental game, as a result of more people in the rental game, rent prices are going to continue to go up, which means we’re going to be able to save less money over time, therefore that’s going to push them further than 31 years of age.”
See Bouris’ interview in full, by clicking the video above.
