First home buyers in retreat
First home buyers appear to have retreated from the market, according to new data released this week by mortgage broker AFG.
AFG's Mortgage Index revealed that in December the mortgage market had become "a tale of two seaboards", with investors dominating New South Wales and Queensland as first home buyers retreated.
The AFG analysis said first home buyers usually represented between 12-15 per cent of home loans arranged in any month, but this had collapsed to just 4.2 per cent in NSW and 4.5 per cent in Queensland in November and December last year.
AFG attributed this to the withdrawal of first home buyer grants in both states except in the case of new housing.
This compared to Western Australia, where first home buyers comprised 23.2 per cent of all new homes in December, while investors took up 30.5 per cent of mortgages.
Commenting on the findings, AFG general manager of sales and operations, Mark Hewitt said that as the industry entered a new year, the mortgage market needed both more competition and greater consumer confidence.
"It is still the case that just four institutions account for nearly nine out of every 10 mortgages arranged in Australia," he said.
"That level of concentration doesn't serve consumers well."
Hewitt claimed it was also well established that despite strong employment levels, low interest rates and greater savings, many people simply didn't feel sufficiently confident in the economy to buy their first home, upgrade or invest.
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