The Australian Financial Review --- Page: 6 : 17 March 2007 Original article by Patrick Durkin
ABIX Summary
New data show that 17.7 per cent of all new mortgages are taken out by first-home buyers. The figure compares with 22 per cent 10 years ago. Harley Dale, of the Housing Industry Association, says fewer than 10 per cent of first-home buyers are in their early 20s in 2007, down from 19 per cent in the late 1980s. A report by the Association shows that young Australians are being forced to move to non-metropolitan areas to buy. Dale notes that median house prices were nine times the average income in 2006, up from 4.5 times about 10 years ago.
