Australia’s Gen-Y, otherwise called the young Aussies, has broken the mold.

Once typecast as being fixated with carefree spending and sponging off their parents, these Gen-Yers have flown out of its pigeonhole as the currently ongoing high property prices have changed them from being Generation Egocentric into Generation Prudent.

According to a recent survey conducted on mortgage-holders with the age under 30, it reveals that of the thousand respondents surveyed, 71 percent claimed that they never have rented a property.

Young Aussies were found out that they won’t leave home for they want to save for their own property.

Of the 1000 Gen-Yers surveyed, 76 percent of respondents have admitted that they have stayed at home longer than they would have liked in order to circumvent paying rent, for the purpose of saving for a home loan deposit as they hang on to the great Aussie home ownership dream that is buying their own dream house.

More Australian Gen-Yers are opting to stay home longer with parents or some are even staying with their grandparents, in a phenomenon hailed as the “Famwich”, in order to save for a deposit.

With the soaring prices on house and land packages, Australia’s Generation Y has adopted the strategy of extended living in parental homes which is said to have become a common financial strategy among younger people nowadays.

A long-standing trend towards extended living in the parental home before leaving to rent have been increasingly observed as Australia’s Gen Yers are utilizing this to save for their own home instead of renting.

According to the survey findings, the long-standing trend is strongly being observed in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne, of which concerns about housing affordability are most prominent.

Australia’s Gen-Yers Shun Luxury Purchases

On another note, according to a recent survey conducted by McCrindle Research for realestate.com.au, young Aussies are also becoming sensible in their spending as the survey data reveals that 91 percent of respondents are prepared to spend less on discretionary purchases such as brands and luxuries, 76 percent on entertainment and recreation and another 76 percent on car upgrades in order to reach their goal of owning a house.

Furthermore, the survey also said that most of the respondents are willing to give up a swimming pool, extra space or multiple bathrooms. However, three-fourths of the respondents are not willing to forgo modern ‘necessities’ such as health care and private education.

The survey further revealed that overall national confidence about housing affordability was relatively subdued, and ambiguity about the future had resulted to financial conservatism among the youths.

However, despite the disheartening vista of decades of paying mortgage, Australia’s Gen Ys are found out to have the most positive outlook of any age group about being able to buy a home design in the future.

Even David Chalke, a social commentator, said that Gen-Yers are better educated, more connected and informed, are active savers, and smarter than the previous generations.

Likewise, Mr. Chalke also added that young Aussies aged 18 to 31 are now more determined and more focused on their future and are better prepared to work hard and budget.

RAMS has responded to this trend by designing a new home loan product, “Fast Track”, that enables first home buyers to get into the housing market sooner with parental help, while avoiding mortgage insurance.

RAMS chief operating officer Susan Bannigan says it’s hard enough getting children to leave the family nest.

“But when they say they want to stay at home to achieve a serious financial goal, it’s incredibly difficult to say no,” she said.

“For them it’s a win-win situation.”

And of course, money to pay the utility bills and groceries grows on trees.

Following the recent release of Australia’s State Budget last week, the next month and a half would be a crucial decision time for people who are planning to buy a house as first home designs buyers are being offered by the federal government with a $10,000 Building Boost for newly constructed properties valued up to $600,000.

The $10,000 Queensland building boost grant is intended for any person or corporation who is intending to buy or build a new home for the purpose of living in, or for renting it out for investment purposes, for homes valued less than $600,000.

The Building Boost Grant was aimed to rekindle Queensland’s struggling housing construction sector which was caused by a combination of declining property transfers and the economic impact brought about by the summer’s natural disasters.

The government wants to encourage people to buy or build new house plans in order to jumpstart the declining property market.

However, as the building boost grant is not intended to pay for a building contract, as well as to any owner home builders who is on the business of building homes and the home was built for sale in the course of that business, this would persuade home buyers to holdup signing an off-the-plan sale or building contract until August 1, as grant is only going to be available this coming August 1.

Meanwhile, existing home owners who want to upgrade or downsize to another property faces a stamp duty (transfer duty rate) increase of up to $7175.

Buying or Building?

With the recent development in the property market, many people would now be encouraged to buy or build new homes. With this, it is now necessary to learn the pros and cons of buying and building a house.

Buying Pros

Potential home buyers can:

• have a wide range of options or choices of ready-made houses to choose from
• have the opportunity to compare different features until they find exactly the right combination at the right price
• have seen the actual house design so they will instantly know what their house really looks like
• have a bargaining advantage as competitive is the property market nowadays, house hunters can now have the chance to drive a tough bargain and get the best deal possible, as there are many other options out in the market now

Buying Cons

Potential home buyers:

• may have to make concessions with regards to the house features you want
• may not find the perfect or the dream house that you want since you didn’t design it yourself.
• may need to spend money in order to make updates or repairs
• may need to make an offer that is more than the listing price if you get involved in a bidding war

Building Pros

Potential owner home builders:

• have control over all the features and options that they want in a dream house
• can customize their dream house according to their wants and needs
• can monitor the construction process so you will know if the house is built to your liking
• can have the opportunity to equip your house with the latest technologies and design
• house, fittings and appliances are all new

Building Cons

• Building a house is generally more expensive and may cost more than buying a house.
• Building a house often takes longer time and construction project gets delayed
• Building a house is more complicated for it will take considerable time and effort as well as it can be stressful for you have to deal will all the people who are part of the construction team.

Recently, a new report was released from Fitch Ratings, a global ratings agency which details mortgage performance by postcode, showed that mortgage delinquency rate in Western Australia has increased while Queensland has made history as Australia’s worst state for mortgage defaults.

The Fitch Ratings report showed that a rise of 1.99 percent, from 1.94 per cent, was being observed from the mortgage delinquency rate in the six months to March in WA while Queensland was recorded with the highest number of mortgage holders that are in debts at 2 percent.

This means that there is an increase in the number of Aussies all across the country who are struggling to pay their mortgages.

The report further revealed that 2315 including Nelson Bay is reported to be the worst-performing postcode in the country showing one in 18 mortgages or 5.6 percent are at least a month overdue.

Likewise, New South Wales (NSW) is home to five of the 10 worst-performing regions in the nation, with Fairfield-Liverpool as the worst-performing region in Australia, having one in 35 mortgages at least a month overdue and Victoria is home to five of the 10 best, with Mill Park and Brighton East as home to Victoria’s hardest-suffering home loan customers.

In the top 20 worst-performing postcodes in the country are Rockingham, Mandurah, Casuarina and West Swan.

Queensland’s Logan city is recorded to be the worst district in Australia for mortgage delinquency with 2.1 per cent of mortgage holders in default beyond 30 days.

At Fault

With borrowers experiencing significant financial distress resulting in mortgage stress seen spreading all across the country, the blame is attributed to the summer flooding as well as the interest rates increases, including one in November.

The statewide rising trend of mortgage stress is expected to further negatively influence the prices of home designs by pushing down declining house prices as “mortgage stress” sales increase.

Prices in house plan will again be forced to be lowered, softening the property market as many “mortgage stress” house owners will be forced to sell their houses.

Though the impact of interest rate increases takes time to be seen, “mortgage stress” home plan owners still are affected for they are worried for another interest rate increase.

With Australian homeowners impacted with the recent summer floods and interest rate hike and an expected interest increase in June, they are now more than ever under stress with their mortgage payments as some borrowers are in arrears by one or more payments.

All Time Low

With the recent development, Australia’s economy is now mixed and struggling.

With NAB’s Index of Business revealing further grim news for the domestic economy, it has reached its lowest ebb since early 2009 when the economy was still spinning from the shock of the global financial crisis.

Used to measure business conditions based on measures of trading conditions, profitability and employment, the NAB’s index has recorded near-record low levels across all three sectors.

Conditions in retail, manufacturing, wholesale and construction are still very poor.

However, the mining sector continues to save Australia’s economy as mining conditions outperformed all other industries.

With the spiraling energy prices, new regulations and a coming price on carbon, Australia’s property owners, managers and listed property trusts are now forced to look seriously at their energy usage and levels of investment into energy efficiency solutions.

The increasing prices in energy and water have also forced potential home designs buyers to look into the benefits of buying green houses.

As defined by Wikipedia, “a Green home is a type of house that is designed to be environmentally friendly and sustainable, focusing on the efficient use of “energy, water, and building materials.””

Designed to conserve energy or water and improve indoor air quality, target recycled or used materials in order to produce less waste in the process, a green house or home might be the answer to the spiraling energy crisis.

According to Archicentre, the building inspection service of the Australian Institute of Architects, the ever increasing prices in energy and water will cause a heightened value of existing green homes and commercial premises.

As the running costs of the rising energy prices eating into every family budget and the bottom-line of every business, Australians have nowadays looked in the affordability of green houses.

The pressure of housing affordability as well as the initial building or purchase costs and the required services such as power, water and gas needed to run a home have become a massive concern for every Australians nowadays.

Prospective buyers of home plans are now concerned with the running costs of building a green house and the cost of maintaining them and are automatically factoring these costs into their balancing of their mortgages and other costs.

With these spiraling concerns, prices of green houses have been set to soar due to its demand.

Green houses are now in great demand. Though normal houses are not as pricey as green houses as well as these are not so difficult to maintain, green houses are still more environment-friendly and cost efficient with regards to energy.

However, the payback period for solar panels and other energy saving technology has shortened considerably with power costs in the past two years skyrocketing.

One of the biggest trends in new homes and renovations is the likelihood of the introduction of quality-based building inspections. The said inspection is said to be aimed to ensure that homes with a six or more green star design are actually built by home builders to the standard.

The government will also focus on the quality of construction of renovations and new homes in the future in relation to sustainability of green houses.

A survey data showed recently that Australian capital city dwellings’ values dropped by more than 1 per cent for the three months till April. This said to be due to the losses that occurred in the luxury property market.

With home values all across capital cities dropping by 1.2 per cent from the first quarter to April, Brisbane, Perth and luxury suburbs have continually pulled down the Australian housing market.

Latest survey data from RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Home Value Index shows that home designs in Brisbane fell by 3.1 percent while house designs in Perth fell by 3 percent for the quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The combined capital city dwelling markets showed a drop by a seasonally adjusted 0.3 per cent in April, while values dived by 1.2 per cent in the three months to April.

Tim Lawless, RP Data’s research director, expounded that from the start of the year to April, a 5.4 percent loss was recorded over the homes is the most expensive capital city suburbs which helped drag down the overall property market.

Mr. Lawless explained that the luxury end of the housing market is showing its volatility, though all throughout the growth phase of the cycle, the highest capital gains were realized by the most expensive homes. However, as the market cools down, premium home values appear to be losing steam the fastest.

The slumping of the property market, specifically Brisbane and Perth’s housing market, is caused by the floods that occurred in January in the Brisbane area while the cooling down following Perth’s strong run between 2005 and 2007, respectively.

Since January, this is the first quarter that a string of natural disasters hit the country.

Likewise, the cheap suburb’s solid performance in the property market has competed against the popular claims that default rates are soaring up amid first time buyers, which the RBA recently rejected.

This development worried home builders as Australia houses for sale values for regional areas decreased by 0.6 percent for April on a seasonally adjusted basis and by 1.5 percent of the quarter.

Just this January, home values dropped by 1.4 per cent that caused capital city home values to also dropped 2.1 per cent for the three months to March.

The capital cities’ plummeting luxury property market values has caused a domino effect among the rest of the capital cities resulting to the continued pull down of the Australian housing market.

Losses in the luxury property market of the combined capital city dwelling markets of Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne caused by natural disasters, the cooling effect of the strong run of the property market between 2005 and 2007, and the faulty claims about default rates soaring up have overall caused great damage to the Australian housing market.

Losses in the luxury property market is said to be caused by premium home values rapidly losing steam as the luxury property market cooled down.

In the middle 60 per cent of suburbs, home values were down by 0.9 percent.

The slumping of luxury suburbs’ property market values has stunted the Australian housing market.

With the increasing number of first-home buyers snatching up apartments and townhouses that may otherwise have been bought by investors, first-home buyers are now acquiring the benefits brought about by the sluggish Perth housing market.

According to the Real Estate Institute of WA, investors had lost interest in buying house & land packages due to the city’s over-priced properties; thus, decreasing competition and forcing down prices of house plans designs, particularly for multi-residential properties which usually attract investors.

March quarter figures released by REIWA’s this week has showed that the median price for a grouped dwelling that includes apartment, unit, townhouse or villa in Perth has dropped by about $7000 to $402,000, while outside the capital it fell about $2000 to $325,000.

REIWA president Alan Bourke said in his statement that investors often preferred multi-residential properties but they are thin on the ground.

Recent property market conditions appear to be in favor of first-home buyers who have been reasonably active and represented about 23 per cent of buyers during the quarter.

According to the latest state government data, the median purchase price in Perth for first-time buyers was $415,000 and $325,000 for those in regional areas.

The statistics follow Premier Colin Barnett’s controversial comments this week which persuades first-home buyers of home designs to lower their expectations to enter the market.

During the March quarter, healthy first-home buyer activity was in disparity to existing home owners looking to trade-up.
According to Mr. Bourke, many of them were “caught in a bind”, unable to commit to selling before buying, causing the property market to stall.

This week, WAtoday.com.au revealed that the state’s property market had fallen into the worst fall in nearly two decades.
According to the government’s official land information authority, Landgate, in just 12 months, activity in the housing market has declined by 15 per cent while more than one-third since the height of the boom in 2005-06.

Even though during the March quarter sales activity had improved, according to REIWA, the overall turnover continued to remain 25 per cent below average in Perth and 35 per cent below in the country.

It had turned out to be a buyers’ market, with 50 per cent more homes for sale than required to meet demand, Mr. Bourke said.

To get the deal done most home builders are reducing their asking price by around 7.5 per cent while sellers who need a quick sale just simply adjust their expectations and asking price before going to market.

On the other hand, according to Mr. Bourke, the fall in median price from December 1 was expected to be only 1 per cent.

Mr. Bourke additionally stated that preliminary data suggests that for the March quarter, the median house price will be about $485,000 for Perth and $375,000 elsewhere.

The rental vacancy rate has tightened regardless of a flooded market and has led to the first increase in rental prices in 12 months.

During the March quarter, rents rose by $10 to $380 per week in Perth, while the vacancy rate remains just above 3 per cent.

Mr. Bourke explained that typically, when the market is flooded with properties, many investor-sellers decide to withdraw their listings until conditions improve and shift their properties into the rental market which relaxes the vacancy rate. However, this doesn’t seem to be happening at the moment.

Australian couples have now put their house plans ahead of their plan of having children. They want a house plan first before having kids.

As the cost of entering the property market rises, around one in three Australians are now planning to delay their plans to start or grow a family.

According to a PRD nationwide survey, out of the 2000 Australians that were surveyed, it was found out that 34 per cent of the respondents of the survey were considering delaying their plan of having children as house prices increase or entry cost rises.

The increasing house prices has catapulted the Australian couples to change their plans of having a family to having a house first.

Aaron Maskrey, the PRD nationwide research director, said that because couples want to buy their own homes first, a significant number of them are postponing their plan of starting their own families.

Maskrey commented that though the long-term trend has seen prices for houses rising; however, the current softening of values in many areas are possible to attract many potential buyers into home ownership as these conditions will not hold in the long term.

He added that this condition has changed important life decisions, such as when to start a family.

Australian couple’s plan of starting a family, i.e. of having children, has now taken a backseat to the plan of buying a house. Because Australian couples perceive that the softening values of home designs would not last long, they are now changing their plan to having first their own house instead of having children first.

This trend has opened the market for Australian house plans; thus, the result is increasing the price of home plan.

Australian couples are now considering buying first their own house instead of starting making a family particularly having children.

As shown by the latest REIA Housing Affordability Report, it now costs an average Australian family about 35.3 per cent of their income to service the home loan.

This report shows that though this is still down from the previous year’s REIA Housing Affordability Report by 4.6 per cent, this still is up from 34.8 per cent in September 2010.

However, the survey also shows that more than half of the respondents or 55 per cent of them would not allow the state of the property market prevent them from starting a family.

This result shows that though some of the Australian couples are considering delaying having a family first to buying a house, most of them are still intending to start a family particularly having children. The condition of the property market has not discouraged them from intending to have children. Though having children has taken a backseat to buying a house.

Maskrey added that the remaining 10 per cent of respondents that were surveyed said that the research was not applicable to their situation.

As expected, last week, the Reserve Bank of Australia has left the cash rate unchanged at 4.75 per cent and the post-meeting statement released was almost identical to last month’s statement.

Almost all are of the same opinion that buyers of house for sale need to sort through all the large volumes on the market to find a quality property as the performance of Melbourne’s residential market is illustrated differently depending on who you ask.

According to Greville Pabst, from valuer WBP Property Group, the market has been observed to be in complete flight in March, with 2925 auctions and an average clearance rate of 63 per cent.

This year alone, there have been 5500 auctions in Melbourne, a nice improvement of 200 over this time last year. The majority of the properties passed in have sold later, while the clearance rate is lower.

Sean Thomson, one of WBP’s senior residential advisers, states that what is happening is like a textbook case of quality properties finding a buyer and compromised ones being left on the block. He also added that now is a good time to be a buyer instead of house builders for most auctions are selling close to their reserve. However, the quality of property of houses for sale being offered is lower than those offered last year.

Thomson commented that any home or house plans or apartment that isn’t correctly priced is not selling on the day.

Buyers need to be selective in this current market. Investors are likely to be sorely disappointed in their belief that they are getting a bargain when they see the performance of their asset.

With just under 3000 auctions scheduled, this April appears to be one of the busiest. Vendors looking for to cash in on what they observe as a plateau in Melbourne real estate are motivating this activity.

According to Thompson, though this reaction is characteristic for this stage in the property cycle, however it is not a sound advice.

He commented that the last time he has seen this type of market was in the period of March to May of 2008 when the stock was high and clearances were in the 60 to 69 per cent range. He further said that astute investors who bought during this period will have seen an average 33 per cent growth in the value over the last 20 months.

The market is treading water, and there is still a lot for sale come Easter, which has been noted to be slowly selling when vendors meets the market, says Buyer agent JPP.

The market is falling to pieces as JPP describes, with the sector over $1.5 million beginning to soften. Several properties are failing to be sold at auction, and there is no shortage of vendors still happy to try their luck. However, overpriced properties are struggling, while the top properties are still selling with multiple bidders.

This trend in the market results to an increased supply than demand and having vendors in bigger difficulty than they have been for the past six months, says JPP in his market overview.

He commented that the $400,000 to $1 million sector is by a long way the strongest as it is the investors’ marketplace of choice. This sector has been the strongest performing segment over the past decade and should hold the least risk for investors going into the next decade.

Meanwhile, valuer Landmark White commented that while the volume of sales held up during much of 2010 in the inner Melbourne apartment market, anecdotal evidence suggests that sales rates have slowed over the first quarter of this year. However, he has noted that low vacancies have significant rental levels increase, with two-bedroom apartments showing the best growth followed by three-bedroom apartments.

Nevertheless, an oversupply and its knock-on effect to prices could be threatening with close to 13,000 apartments in the development pipeline in Melbourne.

Display Houses.com.au is the best site if you are looking for the right home builder for your dream house. They featured some of the best Australian Home Builders. They also offer a wide selection of house & land packages, and display homes for sale made by the leading and emerging new home builders in Australia.  They are the complete resource for new home designs, house plans designs and home builders that fit your budget plan.

A bold reddish-pink shade, something in between fuchsia and pink – Honeysuckle is the color for the year 2011. Yes, it’s the in color for houses for 2011. A bold and dynamic color, it encourages and uplifts us. As a color, this bold pink uplifts our mind and gives us confidence, spirit, and courage to meet everyday challenges.

Using this vibrant color of honeysuckle in home designs enlivens the homes and uplifts the spirit of anyone living in these houses. House designs and plans with honeysuckle as their color would really be abundant this year. Home builders have now begun using this color in their display homes.

So why the fuss for this color? As Pantone’s Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman says, honeysuckle will elevate our spirits in times of stress. “Honeysuckle is a captivating and stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going — perfect to ward off the blues.”

In houses, honeysuckle will add elegance into your interior spaces. It will definitely perk up your home. It is a sure way to make your house look upbeat and dynamic.

At first, you might feel uneasy using this bold color. But don’t despair; honeysuckle has the influence on other colors to deepen their intensity.

Last year’s Pantone color of the year matches perfectly with honeysuckle so you can go on using last year’s color but you can update it with a shade of pink. Paint your kitchen, hallway, and living area with honeysuckle to give them vigor and enliven these areas. It is a great way to cover up shabby kitchen cabinets and enliven the room with its bold and energetic shade.

Match up your honeysuckle with basic black, charcoal, or light to mid grey and navy colors. You may also try complimenting it with bronze greens like tapenade to add complexity to the arrangement. Choose a few key pieces like cushions and floor rugs in honeysuckle if you are not sure of where to start. These key items in honeysuckle color will cheer up your room.

But be careful! Decorating your home is a serious matter. One cannot be lax in what to put inside your home for people believe that one’s house is a reflection of one’s personality. So one must be careful in what to put in them and make sure you use this bright color carefully.

You may also use placemats and glassware in honeysuckle in the dining room and a honeysuckle-colored vase in the bedroom or living room.

All you have to remember is to take one small step in decorating at a time. Too much of everything is bad. It would be disastrous to your home. So if you want house design that are in honeysuckle, put in mind that this vibrant shade also mixes well with orange, industrial style.

So, start invigorating your homes now and choose home designs that are in honeysuckle, and cheer up your life!

Every family needs a home because home is where the heart is in all families. Home is the safest, most comforting place to be. It is where one can be who they are without people judging them. It is a cozy place, it is a haven. It is a haven and a refuge for families from the stress of the outside world. That is why, it is always in everybody’s dream to be able to build a home they can call their own. A place where one can relax and be oneself. Home is a place where people can be a family and share their dreams. So, there really is no place like home.

With Australia’s growing economy that is on its way up to a climax, new houses for sale are offered especially to clients enjoying the benefits of a booming economy. In reference to the HIA-JELD-WEN New Home, sales report shows that the number of new homes sold increased by 2.5% in January this year. This news is relieving to note as compared to the sales the previous year. As stated by HIA chief economist Dr. Harley Dale, “the new home building sector was buffeted in 2010 by rising interest rates and a lack of policy reform to wind back the impact of the dead hand of regulation on new housing costs”. Thus, increase in homes sold in Australia is good news.

With this news in hand, new Australia houses for sale are the in thing. Australian home builders collaborated to produce the best quality, cost-worthy, modern new houses for sale. Home builder gathered all their projects and made a site where they can showcase their creations and styles in building the best home for every family. People can choose from a variety of home designs, house plans designs, and home builders. People can avail new homes through the aid of an internet in an instant. You can choose from different designs of your future houses right in front of your computer.

It is easy to secure a home once you will try to meet the different requirements in buying a house. You just have to meet the criteria of becoming a homeowner. Once you get to fulfill these criteria, then you won’t have a problem. Just browse to your heart’s content with their easy-to-browse and customer- friendly website. With this new way of buying new Australia houses for sale, buying houses for sale is just like ordinary shopping. One just has to relax and browse the site with whatever you like in a house, a new home for your family. The site has all the needed details one looks for in looking for a home display. All you have to do is browse and click.

Choosing a house has never been easier for the Australian Home builders believe that choosing houses for sale need not be stressful. Homebuilders believe that hunting for Australia houses for sale is an important and serious business so they have device a way where house-hunting becomes an enjoyable and relaxing experience. A home that is just one click away!