ISCOVER
A growing share of renters plan to buy property despite cost-of-living pressures, according to Resolve Finance.
The majority of renters are planning to buy property in the next two years, research from major brokerage Resolve Finance has found.
Resolve’s Generation Rent Report, which was based on a nationwide panel of more than 1,000 renters, found that 57 per cent of renters are planning to buy their first home or investment property over the next two years.
The figure is comfortably up on 42 per cent last year, showing that purchase demand is up by more than a third.
Nearly half (48 per cent) plan to buy alone, while 44 per cent expect to buy with a partner, Resolve research found.
The highest proportion of renters planning to buy property was from the 35–49-year age bracket at 65 per cent, followed closely by 25–34-year-olds at 62 per cent and 18–24-year-olds at 54 per cent.
Victoria was the strongest market for aspiring first home buyers, with 62 per cent of renters planning to buy within the next two years, compared to 56 per cent of those renting in NSW and 54 per cent of renting Queenslanders.
The increase comes amid a rate-easing cycle and as more government incentives – including larger state grants and the federal Home Guarantee Scheme – come online to support first home buyers, as housing affordability nears record lows.
According to the Resolve Finance report, saving remains the most common way to fund a deposit (82 per cent), followed by government grants and schemes (36 per cent) and family support (15 per cent).
Despite more renters looking to buy property, affordability pressures remain acute.
Housing prices were the most common barrier, with 54 per cent citing them as the biggest challenge.
A further 38 per cent cited high rents (38 per cent) as a major hurdle, while 65 per cent of renters said broader cost-of-living pressures had delayed their buying plans.
Resolve Finance managing director Don Crellin said the findings reflected a turning point in buyer sentiment.
“Many Australians, particularly younger buyers, are no longer waiting on the sidelines. Instead, they are finding new ways to enter the market, from purchasing with family or buying an investment property first, to using government assistance,” Crellin said.
Home Guarantee Scheme set to give buyers boost
The findings come ahead of the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme, which will launch on 1 October 2025 and remove income and place limits, while raising property price caps across most regions.
New research from property data specialist Cotality has suggested that the expanded scheme will significantly increase the range of suburbs available to first home buyers.
Under the old price caps, around a third of houses and units had a median value below the respective limits, according to Cotality.
However, with the new limits, this will jump to 63.1 per cent, including 51.6 per cent of house markets and 93.7 per cent of unit markets.
Cotality economist Kaytlin Ezzy said the new settings will give first home buyers greater choice.
“Previously, to qualify for the scheme, first home buyers were largely restricted to more affordable housing options, including units and houses in outer mortgage belts and regional markets,” Ezzy continued.
“Since the caps were last revised in 2022, values across the mid-sized capitals have grown significantly, which has seen first home buyers reliant on the scheme to purchase a house, essentially priced out.
“The new price caps represent a substantial increase for most regions and are designed to be more in line with each region’s median house values.”
Last week, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) welcomed the Home Guarantee Scheme’s expansion and stated it believes the changes will reduce the time to save a deposit by up to four years.
Changes to the scheme come as housing affordability stands at its lowest level for households of all incomes since property analytics firm PropTrack began keeping records in 1995.
In spite of that, housing-related sentiment is looking increasingly upbeat, as interest rate cuts and expectations of further price rises lift confidence levels in the market.
[Related: Affordability for first home buyers falls to record low]
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