1 in 10 off the plan apartment buyers choose to default: Finder.com.au

Experts say now may not be the best time to buy property, according to Finder, Australia’s most visited comparison site. 

In this month’s Finder RBA Cash Rate Survey™ – the largest of its kind in Australia – 43 experts and economists weighed in on future cash rate moves and other issues related to the state of the Australian economy. 

While all experts surveyed expect a cash rate hold in July (43/43), just one third of respondents (15, 35%) said that now is a good time to buy property. 

Another third (13, 30%) believe that buyers should sit tight and wait for the property market to settle, while the others were unsure (15, 35%).

Cooke said recent reports have indicated that 1 in 10 apartment buyers who purchased off the plan are choosing to default on their loans. 

”This is the most shocking report I have seen since the onset of COVID-19. It is a huge decision to default, as it means losing your deposit."

“There are two main things that would put a buyer in this position: either they’ve lost their job and can no longer afford the loan, or the property has dropped in value so far that the banks are not willing to issue funds."

“Both are terrible positions to be in, and paint a truly dreary picture for our economic future as it’s only likely to get worse from here,” Cooke said. 

A Finder consumer survey from June of more than 1,000 Australians found that consumers feel more bullish than experts.

More than half of (59%) believe now is a good time to buy property – a sentiment that hasn’t been shared by so many Aussies since months before the pandemic hit.

Economic Sentiment Tracker 

Finder’s Economic Sentiment Tracker gauges experts’ confidence in five key indicators: housing affordability, employment, wage growth, cost of living and household debt. 

This month, positive sentiment about household debt improved slightly, while wage growth positivity stayed at 0% for the fourth consecutive month.

Positive sentiment for housing affordability dropped from an all-time high of 59% in June 2020 back to 44% this month.