We as an industry need to create product that first homebuyers can both afford and feel excited about
You know you are old when you can reflect back 40 years to when our land development industry was a very different, a time when buying your first home was about entering the market as soon as possible and buying a home that one could comfortably afford. We were all proud as could be of our first home that might only have been 100 square metre on the fringe of Melbourne – but it was ours and we were on our way fulfilling that great Australian dream.
Today the dream of owning your first home has vanished for many young people merely due to their expectations and these people will become lifelong renters.
It doesn’t need to be this way, it starts with the building industry, they need to get creative and design first home buyer product that has flair to it but is a lot smaller than the homes currently displayed in display villages across Australia. Show the first home buyer what they can afford to build on a 300 square metre lot. We as an industry need to create product that first homebuyers can both afford and feel excited about what they are getting.
As for the first homebuyers – they need to get their heads out of the clouds and get real about what they can afford. They can’t afford a first home exceeding 200 square metre with 4 bedrooms and a study on a 500 square metre lot. The reason so many people who are considering purchasing their first home will become life longer renters is because they choose not to buy today but to save for the home of their dreams instead of buying what they can afford today.
Those choosing to save for that dream home soon find that they cannot keep up with inflation and the land and home prices continue to rise at a rate faster than they can save.
The answer is more land needs to be made available for first home buyer that are between 300 and 350 square metres plus builders need to start designing housing product between 100 and 150 square metres. Let’s get first homebuyers back into the market and get them started.
