Housing affordability is expected to worsen in the next 12
months, according to the latest ANZ CoreLogic Housing
Affordability Report.
While many would expect rising interest rates to push home
prices down, the report says the market is actually going
through a period of recovery, driven by population growth and
a lack of supply.
ANZ senior economist Adelaide Timbrell says savings are
being depleted by rising rents making it harder for those who
want to buy to save a deposit. The report says rents have
increased 28.4% since the start of the pandemic.
“It becomes harder to accumulate the initial deposit needed to
secure a loan,” Timbrell says. “This is compounded by rising
deposit requirements as home values rise, and smaller loan
amounts as mortgage rates increase.
“Such conditions help to explain why homeownership has
fallen more substantially across lower-income households over
time and may result in weaker first home buyer activity going
forward.”
