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First home buyers have returned to the property market, says the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).
Recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal that first home financing commitments for the month of April were well above the long-term average, making up 20 per cent of all owner-occupied dwellings.
Maiden purchases are also up more than 35 per cent since the same time period in 2011, marking a significant turnaround from recent years.
May and June have also seen consecutive interest rate cuts enacted by the Reserve Bank of Australia, providing residents further incentive to return to the market.
The impact remains to be seen, but REIQ chairman Pamela Bennett believes that high interest rates in 2010, along with the removal of the First Home Owners Boost (FHOB), had a negative effect on sales activity.
"There is little doubt that the FHOB was a successful policy during the global financial crisis which brought the buying decisions of many first home buyers forward and helped to underpin our market during uncertain times," she said.
"It has taken a few years for underlying demand from first-timers to strengthen once again and that is what we are now starting to see in the market."
Ms Bennett also stated that in addition to lower interest rates, buyers also have access to the $7,000 First Home Owners Grant and stamp duty concessions up to $15,000.
