Data confirms FHB property bubble forming

A swell in first home buyer loan sizes has affirmed concerns that first home buyer incentives were inflating property prices in the lower end of the market.

While the increased first home buyer grant has seen first home buyer numbers increase by more than 5,000 in the year to February, the average first home buyer loan size has also jumped to $280,600 in February this year.

This is a $52,000, or 23% increase in just two years, CoreData’s Q2 2009 Australian Mortgage Report revealed today.

More concerning was the sharp increase of $11,400 recorded in the three months to February plus the $18,100 in the three months prior to this period.

Furthermore, the average first home buyer loan size is now $37,500 more than that of a non-first home buyer.

Two years ago this difference in loan sizes was just $6,500 – “highlighting the first home buyer bubble”, according to CoreData.