Affordability tops search list

THE Great Australian dream used to be a house on a quarter acre block.

These days – for those who can afford the deposit – what prospective homeowners look for depends on which state they live in.

Affordability was the top priority for first-home buyers in Queensland, a new survey found.

It ranked ahead of finding a property in a suburb with low crime rate, according to the poll by comparison site Finder of more that 1000 first-home buyers nationally.

Proximity to public transport was also among the key criteria first timers used when looking for the perfect home, with about a quarter of local respondents selecting this as their number one location criteria.

Purchasing in a suburb that had strong prospects for future price growth ranked fourth (25 per cent of those surveyed), followed by whether a property was near the shops (23 per cent). The findings echo what Realestate.com.au uncovered in its latest Property Seekers Survey which polled 6000 buyers across the nation.

Being in a safe neighbourhood, access to shops and being close to work were the top three criteria found to be used by first-home buyers when house hunting.

The survey taken by Australia’s leading property website also found the most important features of a property to these buyers was the number of bedrooms, airconditioning and a garage. Realestate.com.au has also revealed the top five Gold Coast suburbs first-home buyers are most eager to break into, based on the number of enquiries received for properties in each area.

Surfers Paradise was found to be the top suburb among property-purchasing hopefuls, with units which have a median price of $414,000 enjoying the greatest number of inquiries.

Nearby Broadbeach was ranked second and units were also the most popular property type. A typical abode in the suburb would set buyers back $562,5000. Southport and Upper Coomera, where the median house prices are $376,000 and $540,000 respectively, followed. In the former, newbie buyers had their eyes on units, and were keen on houses in the latter.

Southport also made a second appearance and rounded out the top five, with fresh faces to the market also interested in houses there, which have a median price of $662,500.

Despite the pressures of the pandemic, the Australian property market has defied expectations and continued to boom.

Realestate.com.au has observed that as prices have soared, first-home buyer enquiry activity has dropped by more than 10 per cent year-onyear for properties in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. Interest in Brisbane homes jumped almost 10 per cent.

Finder’s head of consumer research Graeme Cooke urged first-home buyers to consider regional and rural areas, which were often more affordable.

“Potential buyers would be well advised to start looking at their options early in the current climate,” he said.