Most first home buyers now co-buy, but skip key legal protections

New lending and survey data show co-buying has become mainstream for Australian first home buyers, yet many still do not sign the co-ownership agreement or choose the title structure that protects them if the arrangement breaks down. Titlespace is urging buyers to decide ownership shares and exit terms before settlement, not after a dispute.

Why it matters: - Co-buying is moving from niche to normal for Australian first home buyers. - The legal structure behind the purchase can determine who owns what share, what happens after a death, and how a buyer exits if the arrangement fails. - Without a written agreement, disputes over money, property and relationships can become harder and more expensive to resolve.

What happened: - Titlespace, a Sydney-based digital conveyancing firm and incorporated legal practice, is pushing co-buyers to put ownership shares and exit terms in writing before settlement. - Commonwealth Bank customer data showed 60% of first home buyers are purchasing with someone else, including spouses, partners, friends or family. - NAB lending data showed joint home loans to friends or family rose more than 33% in the 12 months to July 2025. - Victoria led that growth, with joint loans up 47%, followed by South Australia at 37% and New South Wales at 34%. - A Buxton Real Estate Group survey found 70% of Victorians would consider co-ownership and 80% of under-35s are open to buying with friends or family.

The details: - Australian co-owners generally hold title either as joint tenants or tenants in common. - Joint tenancy usually includes a right of survivorship, so a deceased owner's interest generally passes automatically to the surviving owner. - Tenancy in common allows co-owners to hold defined, unequal shares that each owner can leave to whomever they choose. - A written co-ownership agreement, sometimes called a tenants in common agreement, sets out each buyer’s share, how costs are split and how a buyout or exit works. - Titlespace says co-buyers should address job loss, relationship breakdown and death on paper before settlement, while everyone is still on good terms. - In a survey of 1,005 people, 61.3% of Australians said fear of damaging the relationship was the top reason against co-buying. - Among people who had co-bought, about one in three reported some conflict or issue. - The most common issue in that group was a relationship breakdown unrelated to the property.

Between the lines: - The data suggests demand for co-buying is already here, but the planning around it is lagging. - The biggest gap is not interest in shared ownership; it is understanding how title choice and a written agreement change legal and financial outcomes. - The warning is practical, not theoretical: most problems are easier to prevent before settlement than to fix after emotions or finances shift. - The Buxton survey points to strong openness in Victoria, but it is a small, Victoria-only, agency-commissioned attitudinal survey, so it is better read as a signal than a national benchmark.

What's next: - Titlespace wants more buyers to seek advice on the choice between joint tenants and tenants in common before they sign. - The firm also helped co-produce the Season 2 opening episode of NAPP (Not Another Property Podcast), titled "Buying Property With Family in Australia," to explain the issue in plain language. - Readers looking for more context can review Titlespace's guidance on buying property with family or friends and the linked source reports behind the data.

The bottom line: - Co-buying is now common, but the legal paperwork is still catching up. Buyers who sort title structure and co-ownership terms early are better protected if the relationship, finances or property plan changes later.