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REAL ESTATE: Hunter in nation’s top dozen for first home buyers seeking tree/sea change

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Out-of-reach capital city house prices and increased uptake of remote working are just two of the reasons first home buyers are snapping up property in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Maitland according to Hunter real estate agents.

Since the start of the pandemic, 24,500 people left Sydney for elsewhere in NSW, with Newcastle and Lake Macquarie both featuring in the nationwide top 12 destinations for sea and tree changers. 

“First home buyers are attracted to our area by more affordable homes, our enviable lifestyle and relative proximity to Sydney,” says the team at Altitude Real Estate

“The median house price in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, while higher than ever at $746,000, is still more affordable than in Sydney, where it currently sits at $1.22 million. 

“In Maitland, meanwhile, first home buyers are drawn to the rural lifestyle, coupled with urban convenience, and the fact that they can buy a freestanding home for less than $500,000.”

Altitude’s Jeff Sansom and Paul McAllister believe Hunter land sales, similar to those in Cameron Park, have seen a spike in popularity with first home buyers thanks to government incentives designed to stimulate the construction industry.

“This year we’ve seen an increase in first home buyers in the market, spurred on by government schemes and grants, record-low interest rates and the fear of missing out,” Mr Sansom said.

“First home buyer activity was 65.4% higher in the first five months of 2021 than it was in the same period last year. In fact, it hasn’t been this high since 2009.

“Having said that, first home buyer activity has been decreasing each month since January. 

We’re seeing property investors who withdrew in the face of the pandemic returning to the market, and that, coupled with still-rising prices, may continue to slow down first home buyers.”

And while most might imagine a first home buyer to be aged in their 20s, new research shows the average Australian first home buyer is 36 years old.

“Although they’re older, that’s not stopping them from taking advantage of the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad,” Mr McAllister told Newcastle Weekly.

“Recent reports show that the average parental gift or loan to adult children to help them buy property now sits at $89,000, making the nation’s parent’s Australia’s ninth biggest mortgage lender.”

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