CommBank puts co-owning on the home borrowers' agenda

Borrowers must guarantee each other’s home loan as security
CommBank puts co-owning on the home borrowers' agenda
Jonathan ChancellorNovember 22, 2021
A quarter of Australians have considered buying property with a ‘non-traditional’ partner including parents, siblings or friends, according to research from CommBank. Affordability was the main driver, followed by the hope of buying a bigger/better property and spreading the financial risk if anything went wrong. Commonwealth Bank’s Executive general manager of home buying Dr Michael Baumann said while rising house prices build wealth for incumbent owners, they also pose affordability challenges to first homebuyers looking to enter the market, and those looking to sell and upgrade. One in 10 respondents in the survey didn’t know it was possible, Baumann noted. The data found that while price is the biggest barrier to entry for potential property buyers, it is also the biggest incentive – with over 60 per cent saying they are worried about being priced out of the market. "Australians also feel pressure from friends and family, with 44 per cent of those property buyers who admitted to feeling pressure saying that the push comes from friends/colleagues who have already bought and parents/family who want them to buy," he said. Pressure to buy combined with rising property prices has resulted in more than one third of Australians (37 per cent) to consider moving interstate/to a regional town to buy property in search of more affordable options that require less compromise on proximity to work or size of property. CommBank has a Property Share borrowing option where co-owning borrowers guarantee each other’s home loan as security. Baumann said it was an innovative lending solution that help more get on to the property ladder. “Property Share is a little known feature among customers but with growing challenges around housing affordability, it may be appealing to customers who are looking for new ways to be able to afford a property given the current market conditions. "Property Share is another way we are helping customers who are struggling to save for a deposit by enabling them to split the cost of buying a house with friends or family while keeping their finances, ownership and repayments separate. "Property Share gives borrowers the ability to support one another into the same property while providing confidence and protection of separate financial obligations."

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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