Buying Cheaper than Renting for 40pc of First Home Buyers
According to a poll conducted by Great Southern Bank, owning a home is cheaper than many hopeful home buyers anticipated, with more than 2 out of every 5 recent homeowners paying less on their mortgage than they did on rent. Here, 42% of existing homeowners reported spending less on their mortgage than renters, while another 26% pay approximately the same from the poll of 1,500 homebuyers.
Megan Keleher, chief customer officer of Great Southern Bank, said that “many would-be homeowners overestimate the costs of holding a home loan.”
“Our study reveals that many first-time house purchasers pay more on rent than they do on a mortgage – and this trend is only expected to continue in the current rental market,” she said.
In fact, almost twice as many recent homeowners living in regional areas reported a decrease of 44% in their housing costs rather than an increment of 26%. Meanwhile, for those first home buyers who are renting and still looking to buy one, 61% are expecting to pay less on their mortgage each month compared to their existing rent.
Ray White’s Chief Economist, Nerida Conisbee, supported this perspective emphasizing that “with many incentives available, buying was looking a lot better than renting”. Despite an interest rate rise, Conisbee presumes that “numbers of first home buyers who would potentially pay less on their mortgages than their rent is likely to increase this year”. Whereas, Megan Keleher additionally said, “interest rates have been at record low levels for some time now, making home loans even more affordable”.
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