The ongoing conversation about how parental financial assistance influences property prices gains traction as the Reserve Bank of Australia prepares for tomorrow’s interest rate announcement.
Analysts widely anticipate that the RBA will maintain the cash rate at 3.60 percent when it announces its decision at 2.30 p.m. tomorrow, a stance that may frustrate struggling mortgage holders.
This prediction aligns with a Finder survey, which polled economic experts and found that 30 out of 35 respondents expect the rate to remain unchanged.
However, there is much less agreement among economists and analysts when discussing the consequences of parents helping their children with financial support to enter the housing market.
According to new research by Finder, which surveyed 1,006 first-time home buyers, 17 percent relied on their family’s financial assistance to gather their deposit, an increase from 11 percent the previous year.
This translates to nearly 20,000 first-time buyers annually who benefit from parental financial support.
Finder head of consumer research Graham Cooke said without it, property ownership would be out of reach for many young people.
“Those who can lean on mum and dad are typically entering the market not just sooner, but in a much stronger position,” he said.
But while it’s giving some lucky few a leg up, nearly one in three experts canvassed by Finder believe it is also distorting the housing market.
Among them are Michael Yardney, from Metropole Property Strategists, who thinks a twin-track housing market is evolving.
“This is creating a two-tier market of the haves and have-nots, families with property equity already and others,” he said.
On the other hand, Tim Reardon from the Housing Industry Association said family support is a natural part of a well functioning market.
“[Parents] are not a distortion, they are correcting the market distortion created by the severe lending restrictions imposed on first home buyers,” he said.
There was also concern about the impact of the government’s First Home Guarantee Scheme, which will allow all first home buyers to purchase a home with only a 5 per cent deposit instead of the usual 20 per cent.
From the 26 experts canvassed, 65 per cent think it will encourage first home buyers to take on more debt than they should.
