Deposit drive hard slog for young Ipswich couple

"We've both accepted defeat in being able to buy a house any time soon.”

TOUGH SLOG: Brent Pettersson and Penelope Sparrow are trying to save for a deposit while renting.

IT WILL be years before Bundamba resident Penelope Sparrow and her partner have enough money to buy a home.

Penelope, 22, and Brent Pettersson, 24, have been scrimping and saving for years but they're struggling to make headway on their home deposit nest egg.

They're only aiming for a 5 per cent deposit but fear they've already been priced out of the market.

The pair hoped to pick up a move-in ready property for about $200,000 but each time an unexpected expense pops up, that goal seems further away. Forking out $300 a week for their three-bedroom home in an estate at Bundamba isn't helping and Penelope is ready to give up - for now.

"We've both accepted defeat in being able to buy a house any time soon, unless we want to live in woop woop or a shoebox," Penelope said.

"We were looking at anywhere from $200,000 and up but a lot of the houses around that mark these days are either too far out for us or need too much work."

The couple have talked about marriage and kids within the next 10 years and want to own a home first.

"Now we're hoping to have the deposit saved within five years," Penelope said. "If we stay in the Ipswich area, the prices are more reasonable but it still feels a bit unattainable although a bit more realistic than anywhere in Brisbane.

"We've both lived in Ipswich our whole lives and we both love the area. We don't want to stray too far, it's close to Brisbane CBD which has everything we need."