{"id":29871,"date":"2021-01-03T14:29:11","date_gmt":"2021-01-03T01:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/?p=29871"},"modified":"2021-01-03T14:29:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-03T01:29:11","slug":"how-2020-became-the-year-of-the-first-home-buyer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/how-2020-became-the-year-of-the-first-home-buyer\/","title":{"rendered":"How 2020 became the year of the first-home buyer"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOTO: First-home buyers have reached their highest level in over a decade, despite the pandemic.\u00a0Photo:\u00a0iStock<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Many first-home buyers<\/a> entered 2020 fearful they had missed their window to buy, but the unexpected events of the year have prompted the biggest entry-level property buying spree in a decade.<\/p>\n

Rising dwelling prices early in the year discouraged many, before the coronavirus pandemic and recession hit and the market paused. But a raft of grants and discounts meant first-time buyers then rushed into the market at the highest levels since the first-home-owner grant was tripled during the GFC.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been an unexpected opportunity for some who kept their jobs to snap up their first home<\/a> in the absence of investor competition \u2013 provided they can afford the sticker price, which is still a barrier to others.<\/p>\n

The year started with the rollout of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme<\/a> (FHLDS), with the federal government offering 10,000 first-home buyers the opportunity to get into the market with as little as a 5 per cent deposit, without paying lender\u2019s mortgage insurance.<\/p>\n

The first 3000 spots with the major banks\u00a0were snapped up within 10 days<\/span>, with the remaining 7000 spots with\u00a025 smaller lenders gone by May<\/span>. A further 10,000 places were made available on July 1, with fewer than 200 left as of late November.<\/p>\n

\"The
A recent auction in Sydney\u2019s north-west drew 14 first-home buyers. Photo: Peter Rae<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

READ MORE VIA DOMAIN<\/a><\/p>\n

MOST POPULAR<\/span><\/h3>\n