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  • According to new research from Finder, buyers are not persuaded that now is a decent time to purchase property as national house prices continue to rise
  • Finder analysed data from 24,400 Australians and found just 49 per cent believe it is a good time to buy
  • Despite the fact that fewer people believe now is a good time to buy, three out of four people believe house values in their region will rise over the next year
  • When asked about whether prospective first-time buyers with a deposit saved may miss an affordability window if they do not purchase within the next year, Finder’s panellists of 16 experts and economists were divided
  • In total, nine experts said they would miss out, while the remaining seven said they wouldn’t

According to new research from Finder, buyers are not persuaded that now is a decent time to purchase property as national house prices continue to rise.

To discover broader patterns in customer mood and behaviour, Finder analysed data from 24,400 Australians and found just 49 per cent believe it is a good time to buy. 

This is only a few points higher than the pessimistic low of 42 per cent in April 2020.

In December 2020, a record-high 67 per cent of people said it was a good time to buy, however, this figure has since dropped by 18 points.

Finder head of consumer research Graham Cooke said that Australians’ property optimism has yo-yoed throughout the past 12 months.

“As lockdowns rolled out across Australia and open house inspections declined, Finder’s Property Positivity Index nosedived only to recover again as the housing market sprang back to life,” he said.

“Both the rock-bottom cash rate and FOMO have turbo-charged prices, but fears of a property bubble are making many Aussies pessimistic that now is the time to buy,” he added.

Despite the fact that fewer people believe now is a good time to buy, three out of four people believe house values in their region will rise over the next year. This is an increase from the low of 24 per cent who believed this in April 2020.

When asked about whether prospective first-time buyers with a deposit saved may miss an affordability window if they do not purchase within the next year, Finder’s panellists of 16 experts and economists were divided.

In total, nine experts said they would miss out, while the remaining seven said they wouldn’t.

Wealth Within stock market analyst Dale Gillham said that buyers would not be missing a window, as there never was one to begin with.

“I have never seen a time when we thought property was cheap for anyone, let alone first-time buyers,” he said.

Curtin Economics Centre Deputy Director Rebecca Cassels said that increasing prices may make it harder for people to enter the market.

“Increased house prices driven by significant stimulus and low interest rate environment has the potential to lock out future first home buyers by making it even harder to come up with the deposit needed to enter the market,” she said.

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