Who are the losers in Australia’s property market?

According to a first-of-its-kind national survey by InfoTrack which studied 130,000 Australians, supply shortages and elevated property prices took its toll on buyers.

“Around 14 per cent of respondents named finding a property a top challenge, but the number one area of concern impacting 21 per cent of buyers was property prices,” said Lee Bailie, InfoTrack’s head of property Australia.

“Family households with children were the most likely to be impacted by the ability to afford a property,” he said.

Across the country, couples aged 30 to 49 were the primary purchasing demographic. Concerningly, many buyers were skipping due diligence out of pressure to act quickly to secure a home.

“In the rush to snap up available homes, more buyers seem to be compromising on important property checks in favour of putting in a speedy offer. Not even half of all respondents (46 per cent) had a pest inspection carried out, for example,” said Bailie.

While many everyday Australians struggled amid the chaos, one group of professionals benefitted from the challenging buying conditions.

“Buyer’s agents are the ones to benefit – 30 per cent of respondents enlisted their help to find those elusive houses and units,” said Bailie.

In general, buyer’s agents were received well by buyers and sellers, with just 3 per cent of respondents stating they experienced challenges with a buyer’s agent.

When it came to real estate agents, however, service was found to be a lot poorer.

Almost a third (30 per cent) of respondents stated they experienced difficulties with their real estate agent, with communication identified as the top area for improvement.

Less than half (47 per cent) of all respondents described their experience with a real estate agent as “excellent”.

Surprisingly, high interest rates did not impact buyers and sellers as severely as expected, with just six in 10 respondents citing interest rates as a major factor in their decision-making process. Meanwhile, just 40 per cent of first home buyers stated they were negatively impacted by rates.

Instead, property prices were consistently named as the top challenge encountered by buyers and sellers.