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Recent research suggests that many Australians are keen to re-enter the property market, but economic anxieties mean they are wary to take the plunge.
A pulse survey conducted by software firm Dye & Durham revealed that Australians are now twice as likely to sell their home this year in order to buy a new one.
Last year, only 3 per cent of respondents expressed an intention to sell their property and repurchase another within the next 12 months. In 2023, however, this leaped up to 8 per cent of survey respondents.
According to Dye & Durham, the uptake of interest in selling may forecast that “the shortage of listings which prevailed over the past 12 months is likely to ease over the next year”.
The software company’s managing director Dennis Barnhart observed that “many people, owners, mortgagers, renters and sharers are carefully timing their next moves in the property market”.
This desire for home ownership, however, is vying with a fear of economic instability.
Nine in 10 survey respondents are experiencing an increase in their living expenses, and almost two-thirds of Australians believe their financial position will worsen over the next year.
With rising inflation on everyone’s minds, only 6 per cent have faith that their income will increase above the inflation rate. The majority feel that their income will remain static, leaving them unable to keep their head above water.
Cost of living is the top point of concern for survey respondents, with over 66 per cent citing it as the most significant issue they are facing. Housing and rental affordability follow hot on its heels, with 54 per cent of respondents putting it in first place.
With 15 per cent of participants believing Australia is currently in a recession, and a further 44 per cent asserting that it soon will be, it is no wonder that attitudes towards home ownership are mixed.
For survey respondents still hankering for the Australian dream, a variety of strategies are on the table. One in 10 potential sellers have indicated they are electing to wait until purchase prices increased before selling their existing property.
But for aspiring buyers, there is understandably a different approach preferred: 16 per cent of respondents want to wait a year until property prices declined, while 23 per cent plan to hold off until interest rates have dropped.
The Dye & Durham survey results come off the back of intense discussions about housing unaffordability in recent months, with REA chief financial officer Janelle Hopkins revealing that only 13 per cent of homes are within reach of the average Australian household.
Despite proposed solutions like the National Housing Accord and the Housing Australia Future Fund, many industry members feel the future of Australian housing remains uncertain.
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