A growth industry

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Almost 23 per cent of respondents indicated that they intend to buy a home in the next 12 months.

“Despite the vast majority of people still requiring a loan for their property purchase (82 per cent), more than 98 per cent of people expect to contribute a deposit of 10 per cent or more toward a home purchase.

“These results indicate that financial literacy has further improved since the last survey.”

The number of respondents considering renting in the next six months fell from 45 per cent to 40 per cent. “About 22 per cent will consider renting in less than two months, 12 per cent in 2–4 months and 11 per cent in 4–6 months,” the report says.

“Meanwhile, confidence in the rental market has remained consistent with 2017; with 25 per cent of the respondents stating that now is a better time to continue renting a home.”

The report says there is a “relative lack of quality affordable rentals compared with last year”.

The survey found that respondents prefer to reside in Waigani (25 per cent) and Boroko (25 per cent), with East Boroko (21 per cent) and Korobosea (16 per cent) not far behind.

Half of the respondents indicated they would prefer to spend less than PGK500 per week.

“Price is once again the leading factor people consider when renting a home (53.3 per cent), followed by security (31 per cent).”