New polling showed buying a property remained one of Australians’ top financial New Year’s resolutions for 2022, despite prices rising by the fastest annual rate since the 1980s over the last year.
The survey by financial comparison site Canstar showed 18 per cent of participants, representing an equivalent of 3.6 million people, had made a New Year’s resolution centred around money, with 21 per cent of this cohort resolving to buy a property to live in.
This was the second most popular resolution ranked by the survey’s 2124 participants, despite national price growth of more than 22 per cent over 2021.
The most popular resolution was saving money, with just under a quarter of participants aiming to grow their bank balances throughout the year.
Buying an investment property came in third, with 10 per cent of participants naming this as a major goal for 2022.
This came on the back of the latest ABS lending indicators data which showed new investor lending reached $9.73 billion in October, the highest level recorded since April 2015.
Canstar finance expert Steve Mickenbecker said the results of the survey confirmed that “not even sky-high prices” would “dampen Australians’ obsession with property”.
“Investors drove the market to record highs during 2021, and if we see continued growth through the first half of 2022 as people are widely expecting, it would not surprise (me) to
see some reticence creeping into the second half,” Mr Mickenbecker said. “Expect to hear more talk about overheated markets throughout the year.”
Following a year of FOMO and lower than average listings, buyers could soon find themselves in a better position to bargain should CoreLogic’s forecast of slower price growth in 2022 come to pass.
December data showed that while home values in Sydney increased more than 25 per cent in 2021, the monthly pace of growth had slowed before the end of the year.
Property prices in Sydney grew by just 0.3 per cent in December, representing the softest monthly reading since October 2020.
“A surge in freshly advertised listings through December has been a key factor in taking some heat out of the Melbourne and Sydney housing markets, along with some demand headwinds caused by significant affordability constraints and negative interstate migration,” said CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless.
After several months of low supply, properties listed for sale in Sydney rose to just short of 4 per cent below the five-year average in the lead up to 2022, providing more choice for homebuyers after a year of intense competition.
“As stock levels normalise and affordability constraints, along with tighter credit conditions, drag down demand, it’s reasonable to expect growth conditions will be more subdued in 2022,” Mr Lawless said.