Australia’s homebuyers have different priorities than they did two years ago, new research shows.
A recent survey commissioned by national broker Mortgage Choice found that the demands of working from home over the last two years has changed homebuyers’ preferences.
The research revealed that a large portion of Australians prefer homes with an extra room for working from home (42%), homes with more space (34%) and a preference for a sea or tree change (31%).
This is already impacting houses purchased, with the research revealing one-third of recent homeowners purchased a property with a room for working from home, a property with a garden, or located close to nature (36%, 36%, 34% respectively).
Unsurprisingly, nearly a quarter (23%) said that living close to the CBD was a lower priority.
Mortgage Choice and Smartline CEO Susan Mitchell said that these trends are reflected in data from REA Group’s PropTrack which shows that at the beginning of the pandemic, prices increased faster for houses than units.
“Larger houses and units with more bedrooms have increased in price at a faster pace than those with fewer bedrooms”, she said.
Realestate.com.au search behaviour also showed that throughout 2021 there has been an increase in the share of ‘bedroom’ filtered searches for both houses and units with at least three bedrooms, again highlighting the preference that people are showing for more spacious properties.
“It will be interesting to see whether these changes to consumer preference continue into the New Year and how they might shape the property market”, Mitchell suggested, adding that as the nation emerges from lockdowns, employers will begin to expect the workforce to return to the office.
“It is unclear how many will embrace a flexible working arrangement on a long-term basis and the impact this will have on property decisions.”
Mitchell advised homebuyers to research all aspects of any decision, including talking to their broker and financial advisor.
“An extra room might come with a higher price tag, but sensible changes to your daily spending habits might just secure that all important space for working from home”, she concluded.
