Would-be buyers will sacrifice distance for space

Would-be buyers will sacrifice distance for space

Posted on Thursday, January 16 2014 at 4:20 PM

Half of would-be homebuyers are willing to sacrifice proximity to the CBD in favour of a bigger block, according to research.

A survey of 2000 people conducted by Slater Gordon’s
Conveyancing Works found 48 per cent would buy a home beyond the traditional
10-kilometre radius of the city centre.

A further 57 per cent said they’d rather buy a house-and-land
package further out than an inner-city dwelling.

Even though the property market is gaining momentum, many
people are willing to show flexibility in their decision-making process in
order to get a backyard, according to the company’s general manager Lee Bailie.

“Despite interest rates remaining low, increasing property
prices and higher demand are driving people out of the inner city,” Bailie
says.

“What’s more, many people, particularly once they have started
a family, don’t want high density living – they want a particular lifestyle and
that lifestyle includes space to live and play.”

The study indicates that the majority of aspiring buyers
aren’t ready to trade backyards for balconies, he says.

Despite Australia being home to
the largest houses in the world, 74 per cent of respondents say they
expect land and home sizes to reduce in the next 10 years.

“So it’s possible that people have this at the top of their
mind when buying and are actively seeking out property in areas where the size
of the land is generally larger,” Bailie says.

Older Australians are more likely to look to buy property in a
regional area, according to the study, with 15 per cent of those surveyed over
the age of 55 saying they’d consider a regional area compared to just nine per
cent of buyers aged up to 24.

There was little difference between the intentions of men and women with 57 per cent of males and 65 per cent of women
saying they’d look at a house with land more than 10 kilometres from the CBD.

Buyers in Brisbane (50 per
cent), Sydney (49 per cent), Melbourne (52 per cent), Perth (50 per cent) and
Darwin (75 per cent) were most likely to look for property further from the city.

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