Confused about the property market? You aren’t the only one

Aussie first commissioned a survey to test the market sentiment of Australians back in January pre-pandemic and retested confidence again in June to analyse COVID-19’s impact on the property plans of consumers.

It found that consumer confidence in the property market had suffered a collapse in the five months between the surveys – while 76 per cent of respondents were confident about the Australian property back in January, just 46 per cent felt the same way when resurveyed in June.

More than six in 10 respondents – 61 per cent – said the pandemic had caused them to change their property plans.

Half of those respondents – or 35 per cent of the total group surveyed – indicated that they had had to put their property plans on hold at the present time.

Despite the higher levels of concern and a lack of confidence, 42 per cent of Australians are still wanting to take advantage of the market, despite not being sure how.

Weighing in on this particular finding, Aussie CEO James Symond said home loan brokers’ enquiry levels are still strong, revealing plenty of interest still in the market.

He outlined that “there are many opportunities available right now that could make it favourable for Australians to enter the market, invest, downsize or refinance, including lender cashback incentives, reduced interest rates and government initiatives, such as the First Home Owner Grant, the $25,000 HomeBuilder grant and the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme”.

He advocated the role of brokers as having “an important role to play in helping Australians understand their options and make smart choices to keep their property goals on track”, with more than half of the survey’s respondents (54 per cent) indicating they would like more guidance when it comes to their property and finances.