Hobart’s best suburbs for first-home buyers revealed

To get a foot in the door of the hot Hobart property market comes with its challenges and rewards for first-time homebuyers.

• Live that luxe coastal life in Swansea dream home
• Inspired by Burrundulla, this is an unforgettable home

SEEKING expert advice and having patience were among the keys to success for first-time homebuyers Megan Oliver and Alex Wenn.

The 21 and 22-year-old say they were not keen to dip into Hobart’s expensive rental market, and instead spent six months researching what they could afford to buy and where they might like to live.

Miss Oliver said they were lucky to not be in a rush.

“We were waiting to find something that ticked all of the boxes,” she said.

“If you know what you are looking for, you can narrow the search quite a lot.

“We both work close to the city, so we were house-hunting within a 30-minute range; we didn’t want to be too far away.

“We feel like we have gotten in at the right time and at the right price.”

Megan Oliver and Alex Wenn got the keys to their first home today. Picture: Linda Higginson

A fabulous location in Montrose.

The couple had a small wish list, a house that would suit them for the next five years.

“The house we bought is pretty small, about 54sq m with one bedroom, it suits us but would not suit everyone that inspected it,” Miss Oliver said.

“I like the idea of minimalism; it’s a space saver and a money saver.”

Harcourts Signature agent and auctioneer Jerome Thiessen said the last 12 months have been challenging for young Hobartians trying to buy their first home.

“House prices have risen exponentially in Tasmania,” he said.

“Even with the market cooling now, rising interest rates will limit the ability for young buyers to borrow and service loans.

“I think things have just got tougher for first-home buyers for the time being, but hopefully not forever.”

Harcourts Signature agent Jerome Thiessen.

Miss Oliver said alongside typical things like deposit saving, one of the big challenges was figuring out the process of buying a home.

“We had a really good mortgage broker who talked us through accessing the first home loan deposit scheme, bank applications, stamp duty — without knowledgeable people around us it would have been overwhelming.

“We also sought advice from a financial planner, that was an important first step.”

Miss Oliver said one of the best things they did was being first to put an offer in on the house they eventually bought.

She said if you are confident that all of the ducks line up in a row, there is an advantage to being first.

“Put the offer in straight away. As the person with the first offer, you’ll have a right of reply once other offers come in.

“We ended up at a price that we saw as reasonable.”

Miss Oliver said thinking of herself as a homeowner was “pretty surreal”, especially given how difficult it is to buy a house in Hobart.

“To secure a home despite that, it was exciting,” she said.

PropTrack economist Angus Moore.

PropTrack’s 2022 Spring Market Report has revealed a handful of suburbs that are the most popular with first-time homebuyers looking to purchase a house.

Beachside suburb Primrose Sands — about 50 minutes’ drive from the city — topped the chart followed by northern suburbs Claremont and Chigwell, alongside Risdon Vale and Rokeby.

Bridgewater and New Norfolk were the next best options for house hunters while Claremont was the only unit-buying suburb to satisfy the criteria, which incorporated demand for suburbs that have a median below greater Hobart’s lowest quartile.

PropTrack economist Angus Moore described the past few years as relatively quiet for investors, but first-home buyers numbers have been “quite busy”.

“ABS data shows 3300 FHB sales in the 2020-21 financial year, while pre-pandemic figures for 2018-19 show just 2100 sales,” he said.

“With Hobart’s rapid growth, relative to wages, prices have become expensive now.

“However, activity was strong throughout the period of low interest rates and many young buyers have seen it as an opportunity to get a foot on the ladder.”

Follow @JarradBevan