A survey of prospective Australian home buyers found most were reasonably confident about their knowledge of the local property market. However, respondents from Sydney (57 per cent), Brisbane (49 per cent) and Adelaide (47 per cent) are the most likely to overvalue properties in their capital city.

The survey also revealed many Australians looking for a property have a limited understanding of what they can borrow and afford. Just over half of respondents (55 per cent) could identify what factors could potentially affect their borrowing power, such as credit card limits, monthly living expenses, annual income and savings.

Dan Huggins, Executive General Manager of Home Buying Commonwealth Bank, said: “Discussing the local property market is a national pastime but these results show that, even for those actively looking to buy a property, perception can be different to reality. Home buyers need to do their research so they can enter the market with confidence.”

This research coincides with the launch of the new CommBank Property app on Android and iOS, which provides everything Australians need to find and buy a property that’s right for them.

The CommBank Property app can help potential buyers discover how affordable a property could be, search for properties that suit their lifestyle based on their financial position, assess the property’s estimated market price and when they are ready, take the first steps to apply for a loan by applying for conditional eligibility or making an appointment with a home lender.

The new CommBank Property app, allows home buyers to:

• View CommBank estimated market prices, based on multiple data sources, to help assess a property’s potential market price - even if it’s not for sale. 
• Gain a better understanding of what they can afford, by allowing users to input their finances so they can find a property to suit their lifestyle.
• Allow buyers to use integrated calculators that assess repayments, upfront costs and how much they can borrow simply for each property.
• CommBank customers with NetBank can also use the app to apply for conditional eligibility.

In addition to:

• Shortlist their favourite properties and share them with a buying partner.
• Save calculations to their profile to help them further understand which properties are in their price range.
• Access relevant tips and articles to guide them along the way, as well as recent local sales history, capital growth, median prices and much more to help them assess a suburb's performance.

"Our research found more than half of respondents didn’t feel confident they could find current property market price estimates or what their potential repayments could be, which are important things to know when looking for a property.

"Fortunately our app allows buyers to gain an estimated market value price, along with a clear snapshot of what their upfront costs might look like and their repayments," said Mr Huggins.

"We know people use a variety of resources to inform their purchasing decisions such as websites, real estate agents and their friends and family. The CommBank Property app provides all the information and insights in one place, anytime, anywhere.

“Using multiple data sources to provide more informative data and estimated market prices, the CommBank Property app is a truly integrated property app solution which provides potential home buyers with the confidence they need," said Mr Huggins.

Notes to the editor:

The CommBank survey was conducted with 1,000 respondents looking to buy a property in the next 12 to 24 months by independent research company, ACA research.

Other interesting facts:

• 35 per cent of respondents plan to purchase a property in the next 12 months.
  • Melbourne leads the way with 39 per cent of respondents saying they intended to buy a property in the next 12 months.
  • Adelaide is the least motivated to purchase over the next year at 20 per cent.
• When asked to rate their level of knowledge of the Australian housing market, overall 53 per cent of total respondents said they were ‘intermediate’ in their understanding.
  • 14 per cent of Sydney-based respondents said they had an ‘advanced’ knowledge of the market.
  • Whilst 43 per cent of females considered themselves ‘beginners’, versus only 27 per cent of males.
  • When asked about the emotions they associate with buying a property, 59 per cent of females said they were ‘excited’ about buying a property, compared with only 53% of males.
  • Sydney are the least excited at 45 per cent, whilst Adelaide and Perth were the highest at 62 per cent.
  • ‘Excitement’, ‘nervousness’ and uncertainty’ were the three most popular answers.