More first home buyers entering the market as investors

The number of residential property investors who are also first-home buyers has grown from 21.1 per cent to 36.6 per cent over the past year, according to a new survey.

Broker Mortgage Choice found that the number of first-home buyers choosing to enter the market as investors has grown rapidly in the past 12 months, as buyers look for ways to make their purchases more affordable.

As investors, buyers can earn rental income to cover the cost of the mortgage and claim tax deductions for costs such as repairs. They can make the dwelling their home at a later date.

When asked why their first property purchase was an investment property, 26.6 per cent of respondents said it made the purchase more affordable, 26.5 per cent said it allowed them to get into the market and 18.9 per cent said it made it easier for them to live in the area they preferred.

Mortgage Choice chief executive John Flavell said he expected to see the number fall next year.

Flavell said: "As a result of APRA's decision to cap investment lending growth at ten per cent many of Australia's banks have started to make sweeping changes to their investment lending policies."