Results from a study conducted by property-technology company InfoTrack have found that interest rates have not influenced the purchasing decisions of more than a third of Australian homebuyers.
With many Australians facing home ownership with a ‘do it now’ approach, it comes as little surprise that preliminary findings from InfoTrack’s 2024 State of Real Estate Report: Insights from Australian Buyers and Sellers shows that 37 per cent of homebuyers are diving headfirst into home ownership, with other considerations taking priority.
Survey respondent Tom McGuigan said he chose to buy a two-bedroom unit in Lutwyche, Brisbane, to get a foothold in the market.
“The consensus I heard about property is, get in when you can. I had the deposit, so I made my move. Rapidly rising rents further incentivised me to buy and pay off a loan rather than pay off someone else’s mortgage at an overly inflated price,” he said.
“There was a lot of stress among my peers with rising interest rates late last year, but I factored rate rises into my purchase and gave myself a financial buffer.”
Supporting the now-or-never approach, the survey additionally found that only 27 per cent of respondents considered property prices as the main challenge to home ownership.
Mr McGuigan said rising prices and tough competition meant he wanted to move as soon as he had a decent deposit.
“In the two to three months that I was looking, properties were going up five to 10 thousand dollars per month, and they are still rising now. I was looking for a two-bedroom apartment and knew a house within the Brisbane metro area was not even an option for the price I wanted to pay,” he said.
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All participants will go into a draw to win a $2000 Flight Centre gift card. The survey closes on June 9, 2024.
