Sandra Smith and Luke St Heaps have purchased with an initial $10,000 deposit. Photo: Neil Bennett/The Photo Pitch
Aussie home buyers have been snapping up brand new homes with just $10,000.
As cost of living increases and housing affordability decreases, Aussies are looking for new and reliable ways to get into the market.
Australian prop-tech platform Coposit allows buyers to put down a $10,000 deposit and pay off the rest through weekly payments as their homes are being built.
An average build time takes about two years, so paying off a $75,000 deposit would cost around $625 over 104 weeks.
At Grand Reve Castle Hill in Sydney, 14 buyers have made buying off the plan with Coposit work in their favour by keeping more cash in their accounts while the project was being built.
Sandra Smith, 79-year-old downsizer purchased her new home before she sold her larger, existing home.
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Sandra Smith downsized with coposit. Photo: Neil Bennett/The Photo Pitch
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“I was interested in the apartment but I didn’t have the cash ready for a whole deposit,” she said.
After her husband had passed away, she had been living off their super and didn’t want to withdraw such a large amount from her fund.
“It allowed me to purchase the apartment that I love and take my time with the deposit. Once I sold my house I could pay the rest of it off,” she said.
Another owner-occupier, Luke St Heaps, took the coposit option as a way to hang onto his money longer.
“It allowed me to hold on to my money and earn interest, instead of earning half the interest if I paid it in full,” he said.
“I was a bit different to most people, I had the funds to pay the full deposit but wanted to capitalise on the interest I could get from it,” he said.
“There were no cons to using coposit, nothing negative about it.”
Luke St Heaps used coposit to hold on to his money longer. Photo: Neil Bennett/The Photo Pitch
The platform, founded by Sydney brothers Chris and Daniel Ferris, is already recognised by the Commonwealth Bank, NAB and other lenders as a solution to home ownership and allows buyers to pay the remainder of the deposit in interest-free instalments during the construction period – which means no Lenders Mortgage Insurance and keeps the money with the buyers, for longer.
The developers pay a one off payment so it’s no extra cost to the buyers.
Coposit Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Chris Ferris, said Coposit was a win-win solution for purchasers and developers alike.
“Qualified purchasers who use Coposit often secure their property for less and make even more gains while they pay off their deposit between signing their contract and moving in,” Mr Ferris said.
“Developers who take on Coposit also benefit by securing funds which allows construction to be fast tracked, getting projects off the ground sooner.”
Adam Sparkes (left) with Chris Ferris (right). Photo: Neil Bennett/The Photo Pitch
McGrath associate director Adam Sparkes said it can also benefit buyers.
“When buying off the plan in a high-quality development, you get the best value when you purchase early, so any uplift in value by the time it’s completed is an absolute bonus. The other benefit is being able to choose the best position or apartment type to suit your budget and lifestyle.
“Importantly, lenders look at Coposit users favourably, as it demonstrates a proven track record of putting aside money each week to come up with the full per cent over the off the plan period.”
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