$300k trade-off: Qld first-home buyer loans plunge 20pc

Add as a preferred source on GoogleFirst-home buyers sought value and convenience in Southport on the Gold Coast The Gold Coast’s central hub of Southport was ranked among the state’s top first-home buyer hotspots, even as their loan applications across Queensland plunged 20.8 per cent. Latest credit data from Equifax reveals Queensland led the nationwide homebuyer retreat in June, ahead of Victoria (-18.2 per cent) and the national average (-17.2 per cent). It comes despite federal tax reforms designed to give young buyers a leg-up in a softening market, as strict bank borrowing caps force national mortgage demand among 26-to-35-year-olds down 20.5 per cent. Kevin James of Equifax: ‘Hit a wall’ Equifax chief solution officer Kevin James said first-home buyer lending had “hit a wall”. “Facing a cumulative double whammy of persistent cost-of-living constraints and a sustained high interest rate environment, households appear to be responsibly choosing to preserve liquidity and actively curb their exposure to new debt commitments,” Mr James said. Despite the broad market slowdown, Equifax inquiry data shows the highest volume of young buyers remained concentrated in high-density inne...