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Australians Eyeing New Neighbourhoods
25 July 2024
Westpac launches new Property Dashboard app feature to help with next move
Westpac’s 2024 Home Ownership Report has revealed wanting to live in a new area is a key driver of housing plans for a quarter of Australians (23%), seven points higher than in 2021 (16%)1. The desire to move to a new area was also a driver for one in three Australians (34%) that have moved home in the past three years2.
Capital cities are the preferred location for half of Australians’ next homes (52%), but over three in four Australians (76%) prefer suburban life to being near the CBD (13%). For Australians looking to move to a new area, the leading consideration is looking for peaceful and quiet surroundings (58%).
Younger generations – Gen Z and Millennials – represent the most Australians on the move, with over half having moved within the last three years (Gen Z 55%, Millennials 54%)3. But their motivations for moving are shifting, says Westpac Managing Director of Mortgages, Damien MacRae.
“We’ve seen a strong increase in Australians wanting to buy in or move to a new area over the past three years as homeowners seek more space and peaceful surroundings,” said Mr MacRae.
“The need for space is also outweighing investment potential in the decision-making process, with a spare bedroom (+4%), a deck or veranda (+4%) and extra space for the family to grow (+2%) preferences on the increase4.”
As Australians carefully consider their home choices, home equity can potentially help with paving the way for a second property.
Calculated as the difference between how much a homeowner owes on their home loan and the total value of the property, home equity is usually built up over the life of the loan as the loan principal is repaid and the market value of the property increases. This could be a new home to accommodate a growing family or an investment property, continued Mr MacRae.
“Home equity can help you build your wealth. It can be a deposit for a bigger home in a new area or the funds to renovate the home you live in. Having equity in your home is a huge benefit to owning a home – and it is important to understand,” said Mr MacRae.
Westpac has introduced a new Property Dashboard into the Westpac app and online banking to provide home loan customers with a snapshot of their property linked to their Westpac loan. It includes a Net Portfolio Position for most customers and features that allow eligible customers to see insights about their property, home equity and Westpac loan.
Net Portfolio Position gives customers an up-to-date indication of their equity by using the estimated property values linked to their Westpac loans, minus their total Westpac loan balance.
Property features give customers deeper insights on their properties linked to their Westpac loans including the estimated value of the property, value confidence level and property features such as number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
To be used as a guide when looking at their overall financial position, the new dashboard that can help give customers confidence when making financial decisions said Mr MacRae.
“Whether our customers are looking to purchase their next home, keep track of their investment property portfolio, or just check in on their home loan position, Property Dashboard provides quick and easy access to property insights,” concluded Mr MacRae.
Westpac has a number of tools available to help customers better understand their buying power, including a home equity calculator that lets you explore options to sell or keep their property, providing a detailed buying power summary for both options. More information is available via the Westpac website.
ENDS
About the 2024 Westpac Home Ownership Report
The research was commissioned by Westpac and conducted by Lonergan Research in accordance with the ISO 20252 standard. Lonergan Research surveyed 2,015 Australians aged 18+ with surveys distributed throughout Australia including both capital city and non-capital city areas. The survey was conducted online amongst members of a permission-based panel, between 4 – 15 January 2024. After interviewing, data was weighted to the latest population estimates sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Data is tracked and comparable to previous surveys conducted in August 2023 (n=2,000), June 2021 (n=2,017), February 2021 (n= 2,086) and November 2020 (n= 2,088).
1 Comparison from January 2024 versus June 2021.
2 35% of Australians have moved home in the past three years, February 2024.
3 Gen Z 55% and Millennials 54%; cf. Gen X 25%, Baby Boomers 17%, February 2024.
4 Comparisons from February 2024 versus June 2021.
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