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Just 14 per cent of prospective home buyers across the country plan to do so in the next 12 months.
As reported in Agile Market Intelligence’s Consumer Pulse, over a third (34 per cent) of those who don’t own property have no intention to buy.
Interestingly, it was South Australia that had the strongest feelings towards this, with 41 per cent of non-home owners not planning to enter the market.
Victoria, on the other hand, had the highest number of those who want to buy but are currently financially unable (40 per cent).
Western Australia had the most optimistic cohort, with 18 per cent planning to buy in the coming year.
A further 34 per cent want to buy but are not financially able. This jumps to 44 per cent of those aged 18–34.
Many are being priced out, while high interest rates and cost-of-living pressures create a persistent affordability gap.
“We’re seeing a widening disconnect between aspiration and affordability. People still want to own a home, but they’re frozen out by financial constraints that don’t appear to be easing,” commented Agile Market Intelligence director Michael Johnson.
The demographic least interested in buying is men aged 55 and over, with 67 per cent having no intentions. This drops to 59 per cent of women aged 55 plus.
Of those aged 35–54, 32 per cent of women and 21 per cent of men do not intend to buy.
Johnson described the sharp drop-off among the older cohorts as a “generational split in property ownership”, with many who are invested in renting embracing it as the norm.
“Affordability isn’t just about price. The cost of living, wage stagnation, and deposit hurdles all feed into whether someone believes buying a home is realistic in their state,” added Johnson.
[Related: A quarter of Aussie households plan to invest in property in the next year]
