First home buyers pick Mackay to set up future

Mackay is Qld’s third most popular district for first home buyers.

The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation’s inaugural research report has revealed the hottest areas for buyers who secured a highly sought First Home Loan Deposit Scheme spot. Picture: Melanie Plane

MACKAY is offering first home buyers their first step on the property ladder, with 45 properties snapped up by new homeowners in six months.

The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation's inaugural research report revealed the hottest areas for buyers who secured a highly sought First Home Loan Deposit Scheme spot.

It said the 4740 postcode, which stretches across Mackay, Mount Pleasant and Andergrove, was Queensland's third most popular district for first home buyers in the first half of 2020.

Almost 1850 loan guarantees were issued in Queensland across the first six months of this year.

First home buyers excitement for the Mackay postcode ranked just below Toowoomba and Ipswich.

The deposit scheme allowed those looking to get a foot on the property ladder to purchase a home with a five per cent deposit, with the government acting as a guarantor for the remaining 15 per cent.

This means newbie purchasers avoid costly lenders mortgage insurance, which generally applies if a buyer has deposit of less than 20 per cent.

 

 

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"Demand for the scheme in the six months to 30 June continued despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic," NHFIC chief executive officer Nathan Dal Bon said.

"First time buyers across age and income spectrums around the country accessed the scheme, and we saw strong interest from buyers in outer metropolitan and regional areas."

It comes as Mackay developers report a spike in land sales, following the introduction of the $25,000 HomeBuilder grant.

Pointglen Developments development manager Paul Thompson said residential land sales at their Richmond Hills and Shoal Point Waters estates had increased 400 per cent.

"Land is running out," he said.

"I think we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here.

"Mackay is at an extremely affordable stage in the property cycle."

Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said first-home buyer activity had defied expectations during the coronavirus pandemic.

Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said first-home buyer activity had defied expectations during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Conisbee said federal and state government incentives, fewer investors in the market, and slow price growth were all helping drive first-home buyer activity.

"There is a definite skew towards house and land suburbs for first-home buyers, and affordability also plays a role," she said.

"We are seeing a lot of interest in regional areas at the moment on realestate.com.au, which is partly jobs driven by mining, but also changes in the ways that people are working.

"The last six months has proved that living in a CBD is no longer as essential as it once was."

 

 

Lendi mortgage broker chief executive officer David Hyman said the company had also seen increased levels of activity.

Mr Hyman said the number of new first-home buyers coming to Lendi was almost 50 per cent higher in June compared to March, as customers prepared for the next round of 10,000 places in the deposit scheme.

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