'Buyer beware' goes out the door in rush to buy home

August 4, 2024

Property buyers are rushing into the market and foregoing important checks such as pest and building inspections, fresh research shows.

About three quarters of buyers and sellers say they encountered challenges in the market, InfoTrack’s State of Real Estate report states.

Prices were the biggest concern for 21 per cent of people while 14 per cent struggled to find a property, according to the survey conducted for the conveyancing and legal services provider’s report, between May 2023 and April.

Australia’s property shortage had an impact on purchasing behaviour with 30 per cent of those surveyed using a buyer’s agent to secure a house or unit, InfoTrack’s head of property Australia Lee Bailie said.

“In the rush to snap up available homes, more buyers seem to be compromising on important property checks in favour of putting in a speedy offer,” Mr Bailie said.

“Not even half of all respondents had a pest inspection carried out, for example.”

While 62 per cent of InfoTrack survey respondents said rising interest rates were a “major influence” on them, 38 per cent said it had no effect.

Families with children were the group most likely to be affected by affordability, and couples without children aged 30-49 were the biggest demographic of buyers.