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Mortgage Choice’s latest report has found increased levels of consumer optimism compared to the previous observed quarter.
The latest Mortgage Choice Home Loan Report for the June quarter 2024 has found that optimism from prospective buyers entering the market has increased to 83 per cent from 70 per cent in the prior quarter.
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The report aims to provide insights into Australians’ sentiment, attitudes, and intentions around mortgage borrowing, drawing responses from a consumer survey of 1,000 respondents conducted by Honeycomb Strategy over June and July 2024.
According to Mortgage Choice, the insights have said that a stable interest rate environment is being “warmly welcomed” by buyers looking to get a foot on the property ladder.
Anthony Waldron, Mortgage Choice’s CEO, said that buyers are “recalibrating their perspective” on interest rates and whether there is actually a “right time” to buy property.
“After hearing a range of predictions on rate movements, from forecasts that rates would fall multiple times in 2024, to speculation that rates may rise and that cuts won’t come until 2025, buyers are recognising that perhaps the right time to buy is simply when they’re ready,” Waldron said.
“While the consumer research in the Mortgage Choice Home Loan Report shows that prospective buyers are feeling more optimistic, the findings also highlight the divide between those working in professional services and those in other industries.”
A disparity in optimism between industries
Indeed, the report noted Deloitte’s Access Economics Employment Forecasts (released in February 2024), which predicted that blue-collar workers will be the most impacted by a slowing economy, while the white-collar workforce was estimated to achieve the fastest growth in jobs over 2024.
As a result, job security within professional services has left this cohort feeling “significantly more positive” about the property market (up 9 per cent) than those in other workforces.
Over half (52 per cent) of surveyed workers in professional services indicated optimism about their property purchase plans (compared to 43 per cent from other industries) and 56 per cent were more likely to feel they’d benefit from the stage 3 tax cuts to save for a home versus 47 per cent.
Additionally, 44 per cent of professional services workers were less likely to compromise on the size of the property planned for purchase, compared to 60 per cent from other industries.
The report found that 65 per cent of home owners working in healthcare indicated that they now expect it to take longer to pay off their mortgage, compared to 51 per cent of those in professional services.
[RELATED: Mortgage Choice appoints new Victorian/Tasmanian state manager]
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