Young people striving to end mortgages by age 50

A survey has found out that most young people want to have their residential mortgages fully repaid before they reach the age of 50, but also hope not to use above one-third of their household income for the monthly repayments.

The survey was conducted by the Macao New Chinese Youth Association in early November. The association held six focus group sessions, interviewing 35 youths aged 18 to 35.

According to the group, the participants had a range of work, family and residential backgrounds. They were asked to outline their feelings on their current residences, property ownership, and factors affecting property purchases and public housing.

Apart from the aforementioned findings, the participating youths found current property prices “too high” and felt that their incomes weren’t keeping up with rising property prices. As such, they did not feel confident in their ability to buy an apartment.

Another problem is they did not see the possibility of saving enough for a down payment for their preferred properties. An avenue for gathering a down payment was, the participants said, by having “family support.”

Despite their complaints about accelerating property prices, property ownership remained a “must” in their life paths. This idea was more prominent among the participants with children, who found a sense of security and stability from owning property, and the longevity of the assets ensured it remains attractive.

Several participants were adamant they would not buy residences located in low-lying, flood-affected areas.

Many weighed facilities such as supermarkets, catering establishments, parks, car parking and public transport access significantly in their consideration of apartment purchasing. Some were even willing to pay a higher price to acquire apartments with balconies.

Some participants had doubts about the “economic housing forever” policy, suspicious of its power in regulating property prices. The policy was levied by the government so that new economic housing apartments would not be allowed to trade freely in the market.