First-home buyers used tax cuts, rate reductions to feed their mortgages

The Age

18 hours ago

Almost one in six young Australians have enough cash saved to buy a property under the federal government's 5 per cent deposit scheme.
However, the burden of ongoing loan repayments is likely to be ruling out some candidates.
Analysis of savings among mortgage holders shows Australians used last year's tax cuts and recent interest rate reductions to replenish their accounts, and that more are in a better position than a year ago.
Mortgagors have an average of $67,000 in savings and offset accounts, Westpac research has found. But a big segment of people with a home loan are financially vulnerable, with less than $10,000 in savings.
About three-quarters of those analysed have less than $50,000 for a rainy day and more than half of those are below $10,000, the Westpac Housing Monthly report reveals.
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'While this share is down on a year ago, there is clearly still a large portion of mortgagors that would struggle in the event of a negative income shock,' the report says.
Nine per cent have $50,000 to $100,000, and 12 per cent have accumulated between $100,000 and $500,000. Two per cent have riches above $500,000. About 15 per cent have as little as $1000 saved.
Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said those were likely to be recent buyers who had drained their savings for a deposit.