‘Every last dollar’: Young Aussie reveals what she’s had to put on pause to buy
Everyone knows the housing market is tough but one Aussie’s buying journey really shows just how hard it can be.
What a millennial has had to give up to attempt to buy a home in Melbourne reveals the impossible financial choices Aussies are having to make at the moment.
Allegra Paolo, 34, has saved over $150,000 with her partner and is looking to spend between $550,000 and $650,000 on a property.
Even though she’s routinely “humbled” by Melbourne’s property market, she’s apprehensive about contributing more to the deposit.
“I don’t want to put every last dollar I have into a home. You need a cushion for life’s unexpected expenses or inability to work,” she said.
She has been looking for an apartment for a rigorous six months and is grappling with what she’s had to give up even to attempt to buy.
MORE: Huge prediction for Aussie house prices
According to realestate.com.au, the median unit price in Melbourne is $564,700, which is a 1.2 per cent increase in the last 12 months.
Even though Ms Paolo’s budget puts her in a solid bracket, she told news.com.au that finding a property for anything less than $700,000 is an absolute slog.
The 34-year-old said properties going for that price are like “rare unicorns” and highly sought after, so competition is fierce.
“The competition is wild because so many buyers are in the same boat, all hoping to snag something decent within their budget,” she said.
Ms Paolo works three jobs and has been working since she was 15. She’s also been saving for a home since she was a teenager.
“Saving is a marathon, not a sprint, but these days, the finish line of having a place to go home to that is yours – feels further away,” she admitted.
The Aussie said her desire to buy a home has prepared her to sacrifice things like holidays, expensive clothes, and eating out too much. Recently, she’s even embraced getting creative with her grocery shopping.
All of that pales in comparison, though, to what she’s delayed in order to climb the property ladder.
“The biggest one? Delaying having kids. At 34, I can’t imagine having two kids right now and trying to provide them with the same stability and home life I had growing up,” she said.
“Women in their mid-30s never forget that they’re getting older, it’s always there ticking away in the background, and that having kids might only get harder.”
Ms Paolo said that she’s struggling to work out a math equation that will allow her to afford to stay home with her children.
“The idea of taking months off work and dropping the financial burden on my partner just to spend time with my own kid feels a little unfair,” she said.
The 34-year-old said she grew up with a stay-at-home parent and a full-time working parent who could support their family on one salary, but that set-up feels “wild” and impractical.
She’s focused on buying because eventually, she’d like to become a mother, but it is grim out there.
Her biggest gripe at the moment is that apartments are advertised as two-bedrooms, but the second bedroom is meant to be a dining space.
Not to mention how real estate agents will use photos of the property from a decade ago for the listing, making short-listing properties more of a guessing game than anything else.
It’s also been rough to face how “expensive” everything is, and she can’t afford to be picky. She’s considering everything from an apartment to moving further away from the city.
“I expected prices to be high in prime areas, but even places as far out as Footscray and Frankston are now nearly out of reach,” she said.
“The properties within my budget often need renovations, and some are barely liveable in their current condition.”
She also pointed out that you must consider ongoing strata fees if you’re buying into an apartment block.
She’s already aware she probably won’t be able to afford a backyard, garage, or even a two-bedroom that isn’t just a one-bedroom with a dining room used as a second bedroom.
“I really question what else young people have to give up to ‘live within their means,” she said.
Ms Paolo has also been struck by “the number of parents at inspections looking to buy apartments for their kids — it seems like that’s becoming the new norm,” which just further speaks to how much young people are struggling.
“At inspections I’ve been to over the last six months, first-home buyers aren’t just competing with each other. They’re up against investors, downsizers, and parents trying to secure properties for their kids,” she said.
She’s also grappling with regret. After six months of looking, she wishes she had bought earlier before prices skyrocketed.
“Watching the market drift further out of reach makes you want to give up,” she said.
“I think many of us were sold this idea to dream of homeownership. It was like a Disney movie, and we got tricked into thinking that dream would be doable once we grew up. And for those in their 20s? I really feel for them.”
The 34-year-old said it is hard to face how much the market has changed even in just over a decade.
“A decent deposit back then could have gotten me a two- or three-bedroom house in the northwest or southeast for around $450,000,” she said.
“Fast forward a decade, and that same home is now pushing $900,000 with possibly no upgrades.”
The Millennial pointed out that the “cost of living keeps climbing, wages haven’t kept up, and not everyone has parents who can come in and help,” she said.
She’s also frustrated by the generational gap, and acknowledges that for Boomers and Gen X it is hard for them to wrap their heads around how hard it is because it just wasn’t their experience
“Parents just don’t get why it’s so hard for their kids to make it on their own these days. I mean, of course they don’t,” she said.
“They’re not the ones trying to save for a house while paying sky-high rent, juggling bills, planning for children and watching property prices climb.
“It’s a completely different world now, and unless you’re living in it, it’s almost impossible to comprehend, and having this conversation with those people – is like talking to your rental brick wall.”
Ms Paolo said buying a home in Melbourne always felt like a milestone she wanted to hit in her 30s, but now, “so many people my age feel like that milestone is slipping away entirely,” which feels unfair.
How to pay off your home faster as mortgage-free hotspots revealed
Hundreds of Melbourne suburbs boast billions of dollars worth of homes that owners have already paid off. And this housing expert has tips on how you can join their ranks.
‘Absolute struggle’: Vic areas copping most home loan pressure
Homeowners across a number of Melbourne suburbs are doing it toughest when it comes to home loans, according to a new report. And you won’t believe how long it can take to save for a typical home deposit.
‘Nothing has changed’: Derelict house to go under the hammer
It was dubbed the ‘worst house’ and now, nearly four years after it sold under the hammer for $2,005,000, this uninhabitable hovel will test the auction market again this weekend.