House price correction creates opportunities for first-time buyers

First-time homebuyers are entering the residential property market in South Africa in record numbers, a recent data study by analytics company Lightstone has found.

Leading the trend, unmarried women are at the forefront of becoming first-time homebuyers.

This trend has continued to hold fast since 2015, despite the dramatic fall-off in sales caused by Covid-19.

Lightstone’s head of sales, Haley Ivins-Downs said there were a number of reasons behind the increase in first-time homebuyers.

Most important was the correction in house prices which created buying opportunities.

The buying spectrum has averaged around the R700 000 to R1.5-million valuation band, as opposed to less expensive valuation bands.

Further reasons included that younger, first-time buyers opted to save for longer before committing to ownership, with the added assistance from parents in order to help them get into the property market.

Lastly, salary levels were found to be growing quicker than inflation.

With historically low interest rates and slowed house price appreciation, 2021 may be the year to add buying your first home to your new year resolution list.

Of note for the North Coast is the shift of younger families turning their eyes toward buying property in coastal towns, largely inhabited in the past by retirees, rather than big cities.

The Lightstone residential property index highlighted a specific focus on coastal property in northern KwaZulu-Natal and the southern Cape coast.