New data from Bankwest suggests Western Australia’s next generation of homebuyers are gearing up to enter the property market.
Bankwest’s latest Home Truths survey found significant shifts in the saving and purchase intentions of the state’s youngest house hunters. The survey collected responses from over 1,700 West Australians to better understand the needs, preferences and attitudes of those who own, or aspire to own their own home.
“The data revealed a strong shift in the purchasing intentions of the state’s youngest group of home buyers, with the number of people planning to buy an established home in the next 12 months tripling since 2020,” said Bankwest general manager home buying Peter Bouhlas (pictured above).
“Just 5% of WA’s Gen Z respondents (those aged 14 to 25) from the Home Truths 2020 survey intended to buy a home in the next 12 months, but that number jumped to 14% in this year’s analysis.”
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Bouhlas said this was a figure that had the western state’s young homebuyers leading their national counterparts, with NSW at 9% (the next Gen Z group most likely to go house hunting), followed by Victoria (8%) and Queensland (7%).
“The data also suggested where those priorities were shifting, with 43% of those surveyed in 2020’s survey intending to buy a car in the next 12 months; however, that plummeted to just 23% in 2022,” he said.
“There were also indications that as Gen Z grew older, the perception of homeownership was shifting from an abstract dream to concrete goal, with the number of those uncertain about housing preference slashed by three quarters. Sixteen per cent of Gen Zs in 2020 said they were unsure of the type of house they preferred, with that figure falling to just 4% in Home Truths 2022 – the lowest level of uncertainty for any WA generation band.”
Bouhlas said 45% of Western Australia’s Gen Zs remained set on a stand-alone house, but that fell from 51% in 2020, while those looking at a duplex/townhouse more than doubled to 16%, indicating price realities were now a consideration.
“Western Australia’s Gen Z respondents also appeared to be preparing to put their money where their goals were as the most likely of any generation in the state and any Gen Z group in the country to have recently saved money,” he said. “We knew from previous results that the Australian dream of owning a home was alive and well with the next generation of homebuyers.”
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Bouhlas said this new data suggested the next generation was now preparing to enter the housing market, with several responses indicating potential Gen Z buyers were thinking more specifically about how they would achieve this goal.
“We see that in the significant move away from an intention to buy a car, which in-part can be attributed to soaring vehicle costs and supply challenges, but that doesn’t explain the jump in those who were looking to buy a house,” he said.
“The dramatic fall in the number of Western Australia’s young people who weren’t sure what property they would prefer was also a strong indicator that Gen Z was actually out-and-about and considering what was achievable. All of that, combined with increased savings behaviours and financial engagement, suggests we could be seeing the start of the next wave of homebuyers entering the market as the state’s millennials make way for Zoomers.”
