New research has shown that the average age of a first time property buyer has risen to 31, six years older than in the 1970s. The report, published in the Sydney Morning Herald, also found that Australians are using a greater proportion of their income to service mortgage debts than in many other countries.
Average age of people buying first property in Australia rises
The survey, conducted by mortgage insurance provider Genworth, discovered the average age of first home buyers has risen to 31 years, up from 25 years in the seventies.
The research also found that one in five first time buyers used more than 50 per cent of their income to service their debt.
Alan Shields, a research director at Retail Finance Intelligence, believes that the average age of a first time buyer could easily reach 38 or 39 by the year 2040.
The research questioned 9,000 people across eight countries including Mexico, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Unites States, Ireland, Canada and India. While the average age of first time buyers was 31, people buying their first property in Italy or Mexico over the last decade were significantly older.
People buying property in Australia ââ¬Ëamong the most indebted in the worldââ¬â¢
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that ââ¬ËAustralian home owners were among the most indebted in the world, but most had no trouble meeting monthly repayments on their mortgage in the last yearââ¬â¢.
The research found that, on average, Australians use 45 per cent of their after tax income to service their debts, well above the average level of 38 per cent worldwide.
Genworth Australia chief executive Ellie Comerford said: ââ¬ÅWhether for financial or cultural reasons, Australians are the most relaxed about being highly leveraged, with one in three comfortable borrowing more than 80 per cent of their homeââ¬â¢s value, the highest proportion of the eight countries surveyed.ââ¬Â