‘What are we going to do?’: Sydney couple reveal mortgage nightmare

A young couple that “can’t afford” to live in anything but a tiny house have revealed why they are dreading 2025.

Interest rate rises have been a point of stress for many Australians, with one young couple revealing the mortgage hell they will they will find themselves in within a few months.

In January, Danielle and her husband will come off their fixed home loan rate, and they are dreading it.

They are currently paying around $500 a week, which is set to double to over $1000 at the start of next year. Ms Russell is worried about falling off the mortgage cliff.

The couple lives in Western Sydney and she said that, despite her career as an influencer, their home isn’t a mansion.

“We are in a pretty tiny house and can’t afford to get bigger,” the 29-year-old told news.com.au.

Ms Russell has over 50,000 followers on Instagram and over 400,000 followers on TikTok, but that isn’t enough to make her “rich”, at least not rich enough to not be worried about her mortgage doubling overnight.

“People think we must be making bank and we are just a standard family in Western Sydney. We aren’t doing anything fancy,” she said.

The 29-year-old is dreading January. Picture: Instagram/danirussellofficial

The couple bought their home in January 2021. Ms Russell said she was relieved they did because they couldn’t afford to enter the current market.

“We own and we were lucky enough to get into the market when we did and smart enough to fix our loan,” she said.

According to Domain’s March report, Sydney’s median house price is $1.6 million — which is an increase of 11.1 per cent from 2023.

Ms Russell isn’t alone in facing down mortgage stress.

Financial comparison website Finder said borrowers who took out a two-year fixed-rate loan in 2021 at a near rock-bottom 2.21 per cent rate could see their repayments on an average home loan of $580,247 skyrocket by $1776.

“We are like ‘oh my god! What are we going to do?’” Ms Russell said.

Their mortgage will double in January. Picture: Instagram/danirussellofficial

The family lives in Western Sydney. Picture: Instagram/danirussellofficial

If the rates stay the same — and there are fears they could increase even further — their mortgage will double overnight in January, which is less than six months away. The couple has two young children to support.

The financial stress is compounded by the fact that the couple isn’t just paying off their mortgage and managing a $300+ weekly grocery bill, they are also paying back Ms Russell’s mum, who loaned them a generous sum for their deposit.

“My mum loaned us the money and we are paying that back each week. One hundred per cent if it wasn’t for mum and a small inheritance I got, we wouldn’t be able to buy,” she said.

Ms Russell has seen first-hand how difficult mortgage rate rises are.

“We’ve always felt so lucky not to have to pay more, but coming up in January, yeah, we are just hoping interest rates go down,” she admitted.

Ms Russell said she knows how hard it can be for young families. She recently watched as someone she knows could not keep up with their mortgage payments because they didn’t “understand” fixed home loans and were struck immediately by the immediate rises.

According to Finder, 41 per cent of homeowners struggled to pay their mortgages in July, and financial expert Graham Cooke said that housing in Australia has officially gone “through the roof”.

“Rents and mortgages have gone through the roof. They are the number-one source of financial stress in Australia and people can no longer cut costs elsewhere to get by,” he said.

At this point, Mr Cooke said the best advice he could give people is to consider moving in with family or friends to help carry the load.

“Reducing or eliminating accommodation costs, if you are in a position to do so, will significantly improve your cash flow and allow you to accrue savings much quicker,” he advised.

“Not only will you reduce your housing costs but potentially you’ll save money by sharing utility bills and even lower grocery costs.”

Originally published as ‘What are we going to do?’: Sydney couple reveal mortgage nightmare