‘It killed me’: Family’s house sale reveals downsizing trend

A young mum revealing the reason she sold her “dream home” has exposed a larger “sad sale” trend happening across Australia.

The housing crisis in Australia has reached a fever pitch and, now, a downsizing trend has erupted that used to only be reserved for retirees.

The way Aussies feel about home ownership has dramatically changed in recent years, and you only have to go on TikTok and see a clip of Aussie mum Bonnie Brien dancing with her baby strapped to her chest to celebrate downsizing her home to see that.

The clip has amassed over 30,000 views and Ms Brien explained that she was celebrating being released from her “crippling mortgage”.

She revealed that selling her home and moving into a smaller property has been a positive thing because the money she made from the sale of the house means she can take the “whole year off” work.

The young mum then explained how she originally bought her “dream acreage and home” but quickly learned it wasn’t for her.

“The size, the isolation, being out of town, the mammoth mortgage. It killed me,” she said.

Ms Brien didn’t initially want to sell because she was afraid everyone would judge her for making a mistake.

“The moment I finally told my husband how I felt, he agreed to sell, and the relief was enormous. Tonight in our new temporary home, everything feels right,” she said.

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Bonnie Brien said it was a relief to sell her dream home. Picture: Instagram/BonnieB

She's now downsized and is feeling much happier. Picture: Instagram/BonnieB

Ms Brien’s admission prompted other Australians to share the moment they decided to walk away from their dream homes.

“We just walked away from our absolute dream home because I knew the mortgage and upkeep would suck the joy from our lives. You didn’t fail, you learned,” one shared.

Another shared that they had “downsized” to a townhouse over three years ago, adding that “big homes are overrated”.

“We did this too! Downsized because of the work and isolating location! In a smaller home closer to everything we need with a smaller mortgage and so much happier,” one person said.

Another offered their congratulations to Ms Brien before explaining they’re in a similar position.

“I want and need to sell our house as the cost of it is crippling us financially,” she explained.

Young Aussies are downsizing. Picture: iStock

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Traditionally, retirees are the ones that are downsizing, but now, instead of Boomers selling their family homes, Millennials are.

This trend shouldn’t be a shock when you consider the facts. The median house price in Australia’s combined capital cities has ballooned past a million, and the median unit price is now over $600,000.

Young people who manage to buy in such an inflated market often use all of their savings to get onto the property ladder and are left servicing massive loans.

There’s also the fact that interest rates are at a crippling high. As of December 2024, the cash rate target has been held at 4.35 per cent, and it hasn’t budged since November 2023.

To add some perspective, the cash rate in December 2022 was 3.10 per cent, so not only has it jumped quite significantly, but it has also stayed that way.

This all results in homeowners struggling to keep the homes they worked so hard to buy in the first place and the cracks are really starting to show.

Financial comparison website Finder released research that found that the minimum household income required to afford the mortgage for an average Australian house is $182,000 per year, while those owning units need about $130,000.

One in three homeowners surveyed also struggled to pay their home loans in December, and 16 per cent of mortgage holders have missed at least one repayment in the last six months.

Kellie Richardson owns Kurved by Design a company that specialises in property staging and styling and getting homes ready for sale. She’s noticed a “sad sale” trend erupting in Australia.

Property expert Kellie Richardson has noticed a ‘sad selling’ trend. Picture: Supplied

Ms Richardson said that general rise in the cost of living has meant she’s seeing Aussies “downsizing sooner” due to financial pressure.

“People are wanting to tap into the equity in their homes, so they are downsizing to access this so they can live more comfortably and relieve some of the pressure, financial stress and burden,” she told news.com.au.

The property expert is seeing three main categories of sellers at the moment, and this is all spurred on by the cost-of-living crisis.

“People who can’t afford their homes, so they are going back to renting. Mum and dad investors are selling rentals, and downsizers, including older couples as well as younger couples,” she said.

“Younger families have moved into bigger houses but simply cannot afford the high cost of running the homes. So they are downsizing back to smaller houses, apartments and townhouses.”

Ms Richardson said that the “market is full of sad sales” and, before the pandemic, the majority of people were selling their homes for positive reasons, such as wanting to upscale, improve their lifestyles, or retire, but now people are selling due to financial pressure.

“At the moment sales are sad sales because many people don’t want to move but have to due to financial circumstances,” she said.