The coastal capital of the south-eastern Australian state of Victoria, Melbourne is often referred to as the “cultural capital” of Australia. It is home to many of the largest and oldest cultural institutions in the nation such as the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Royal Exhibition Building. Compact and creative, Melbourne’s CBD is a blend of brand new apartment complexes and attractive, older buildings hiding smart digs within.
First home buyers are expected to be a force in the spring property market of Melbourne, with conditions being more favourable as compared to last year. There has been an increase of 10.3% in the number of loans to first-home buyers in Victoria, over the June quarter. According to Adelaide Bank’s latest Housing Affordability report, the annual rise has been of 35.5%. Experts have flagged Geelong, its suburb of Norlane, Heidelberg West, Wyndham Vale and St Albans as value areas for first-timers looking to make a foray into the market this season.
Experts have stated that the introduction of stamp duty concessions last year came in at a time when the market was going immensely strong. These included exemptions for first-home purchases up to $600,000 and reductions on a sliding scale up to $750,000. It has also been confirmed that at that time, clearance rates as well as competition was higher, while on the other hand, now the market has softened, clearance rates have come down, and it is more of a buyers’ market as compared to last year.
Particularly first-home buyers could bid or purchase property at the moment while being assured that they are not buying when the market is at its peak, which they potentially would have been doing late last year. Industry insiders are also of the opinion that homebuyers will have to face less competition, thanks to the investment market having tightened up and lending conditions being tougher. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has adopted measures to restrict interest-only loans and banks have made their lending practices more stringent amidst the Royal Commission into the sector.
Another veteran of this sector has officially confirmed that first-home buyers now represented 19.6% of the state’s residential purchasers. Thanks to the incentives introduced by the Victorian Government, a 5% increase has been noted in the number of first-home buyers getting into the market comparing June 2017 with June 2018. In fact, the REIV’s top three hotspots for first-home buyers in spring were Wyndham Vale, Melbourne’s St Albans, and Geelong’s Norlane. There is also a general buzz that first-home buyers across the country now have more hope amid cooling conditions.
Note that in order to ensure your confidence in terms of bidding, get conditionally approved in advance before going to auction.
