Couple’s long game in hot property market

How a Brisbane couple made the transition to homeownership after 18 years on the rental rollercoaster.

It took Rakesh Nairn the best part of two decades to become a first-home owner, but the accountant is determined to make up for lost time.

Long-term renters Mr Nairn, 41, and his wife Razia, a 42-year-old nurse, finally secured a three-bedroom Kuraby townhouse for $680,000 after years of struggling to save while supporting family overseas.

Latest quarterly home values data shows unit prices in Kuraby in Brisbane’s south surged a massive 30 per cent, or $142,428 for units, and 16 per cent or $172,253 for houses.

A typical house in the suburb now costs $1.25m, and $608,159 for a unit.

The couple bought a townhouse at Kuraby for $680,000

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“Putting together the deposit for a home seemed like it was outside our reach when property prices started escalating five years ago. It was a very time-consuming process and we kept coming up short,” Mr Nairn said.

“It is frustrating to think that with the money we have paid in rent over the past 18 years we probably would be close to paying off the mortgage, but we prioritised our careers and looking after family.”

They engaged a buyers’ agent to get an edge on stiff competition from other first-home buyers

The couple engaged buyers’ agent Lauren Jones after finding stiff competition for properties priced under the $700,000 threshold for the government’s first-home guarantee, which allows eligible buyers to purchase with a low 5 per cent deposit and avoid paying lenders mortgage insurance.

“I feel like we are back in the driver’s seat in terms of our financial future, whereas before things were up in the air,” Mr Nairn said.

“The goal now is to try and get on top of the mortgage as soon as possible, so I have no intention of kicking the can down the road for 30 years, I want to knock it over in the next 10 years.”

They had hoped to buy in Wishart where they were renting at $620 a week, but settled on a suburb further out from the city.

Units and townhouses have outperformed houses across Greater Brisbane

Originally published as Couple’s long game in hot property market