Guide to Buying your First Home

6 GUIDE TO BUYING YOUR FIRST HOME with all those trimmings I always wanted in a wonderful suburb. Again, it’s not where we start, it’s where we finish that counts. Prices Have Increased Over the Years That first home I bought back in 1979 for $13,000 would now be worth over $600,000 due to inflation as all things increase in price with time, the average wage in 1979 was $121 per week. In November 2018 the average wage in Australia was $1,604.90. In the last few years we have seen massive increases in housing prices, this has been caused by several things, inflation, population increases caused through record amounts of migrants arriving on our shores. Another cause is people speculating on continued increases to enable them to make money quickly. We saw some decreases in property prices throughout 2019 which is a good thing for first home buyers however, they are slowly on the move upwards again. Now is the time to gear up for your opportunity to secure your first home. When the market fully re-ignites prices will again be driven out of reach if you don’t jump on board. It Is the Right Time to Buy In my opinion, there is never a wrong time to buy your first home. Many people lose out waiting to pick the bottom of the property cycle. You should buy when you are able to do so and never worry about what the market is doing. You are buying this home to last you for at least several years, once you buy you will be paying down your mortgage instead of losing your money in rental payments. If you buy wisely, the mortgage payments should be similar to the amount you are currently paying in rent. The property market goes through many cycles and you could find yourself waiting for years to pick the bottom of the market. This strategy is nonsensical because while you wait, you are wasting any savings on rental payments. Even the most experienced property investors cannot pick the bottom of property cycles, so the best thing to do is aim to get started on your journey of home ownership asap. Property is a topic I know well because I have worked in the property industry for more than 38 years and purchased my first