A tradie-turned-buyers agent who bought his first home at 21 has revealed how he did it and what first-home buyers need to do to get into the market today.
Jordan Veleski was an electrical apprentice when he purchased his first home in Brisbane in 2009.
Since then, he has built a property portfolio worth close to $5m, which includes five investments, across Queensland, Victoria, SA and NSW, as well as his own residence, which is nearly paid off.
When Mr Veleski turned 18, his parents gave him about $10,000-15,000.
Mr Veleski, who is from western Sydney of Macedonian background, said this was the sum of gifts which had been accumulated from birthdays and christenings over the years.
Birthday and christening gifts helped Jordan Veleski buy his first home. Picture: Supplied.
“In our culture, it’s ingrained that you buy a house and invest, so it was a cultural thing from my parents,” he said.
Mr Veleski recalled his parents saying he had to use the money to enter the property market.
Supporting the rest of the purchase with his own savings, he bought a $350,000 property in Brisbane’s North Lakes.
Adjusted for inflation, the 2009 purchase was equivalent to $519,799 in 2024.
“I didn’t know what I was doing back then,” Mr Veleski said.
“I was 21, I was going out and after that I travelled around.”
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Mr Veleski was still an electrical apprentice when he bought his first home. Picture: Supplied.
Still on an apprentice income, Mr Veleski said the loan had to go under his parents name as he could not borrow money from the bank.
“It was sort of like, ‘we’ll deal with it later, let’s just get something’,” he said.
While Mr Veleski said the property initially “did nothing”, North Lakes has shot up in value in recent years.
The suburb’s median house price has risen $428,000 since December 2020, with the median property now worth $927,000.
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Mr Veleski latest investment was a $350,000 unit in Melbourne’s Footscray. Picture: Supplied.
Mr Veleski said his ability to live with his parents into his late twenties gave him the leg up he needed to give him the platform to buy, and continue buying homes.
While Mr Veleski said it is not an option for everyone, those who have the chance to live with their parents have “the golden bullet”.
“You don’t understand how much you can save and how much further you can get ahead,” he said.
“If you can stay home longer living with mum and dad, then do so.
“Once you go out and you start renting and you’ve got to pay for your own car, your own groceries, your own electricity, your own water; expenses pile up and it becomes harder and harder to get into the market.”
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Mr Veleski decided to become a buyer’s agent while travelling Europe. Picture: Supplied.
Mr Veleski, now a buyers agent, recalled telling one young couple who were able to live with parents that “this is the time when you can save and buy a couple of properties”.
“When you go out on your own and you’re living on your own and you have kids and especially if you only have one income, it just becomes really really hard,” he said.
Mr Veleski said in the future, everyone is going to be living at home longer because of the cost of renting.
“Whether you like it or you don’t, that’s the reality with the way things are going,” he said.
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The apartment will eventually be given to his daughter. Picture: Supplied.
Mr Veleski, who continued to build his property portfolio thanks to his first home performing well, travelled Europe for nine months in 2023 with his family.
Here, he realised he wanted to work in the property world full time, later founding Flo. Buyers Agents.
In August last year, Mr Veleski and his wife, Kaitlin, bought their daughter, Florence, a two-bedroom unit in Melbourne’s Footscray.
Mr Veleski said the purchase of the $370,000 apartment for his three-year-old daughter was a “full circle” moment of paying back what his parents had done for him.
The apartment is currently being rented out by students.
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