Natasha Luscri-Miller and her husband Luke Miller have bought their first home. Picture: Jason Edwards.
First-home buyers Natasha Luscri-Miller and Luke Miller have exchanged calling a caravan home for purchasing a Melbourne unit.
The couple credited a fortuitous investment in silver bullion and the Australian government’s 5 Per Cent Deposit Scheme for helping them get into the market.
In 2023, Ms Luscri-Miller, an actor, and Mr Miller, an engineer, were residing in South Australia but could not find a rental property where they were permitted to keep their two pet greyhounds dogs.
RELATED: Victoria: First-home buyers turn to crypto to secure property
Victorian first-home buyers take on record debt after Albo move
Developers push reset of housing targets, call out ‘alarming’ govt cost-shifting
They ended up living in the caravan for almost a year before moving back to Melbourne and renting for two years.
“We were thinking that we always wanted to buy something, but we didn’t have the capital,” Ms Luscri-Miller said.
However, an unexpected windfall from putting some money into commodities assisted with their home deposit.
Combined with the 5 Per Cent Deposit Scheme, the profits from the commodities was the “game changer” which lead to the couple buying a Melbourne unit for with advice from Loan Market mortgage broker Samuel Power.
Because their unit met the threshold of being priced at $600,000 or under, they did not have to pay stamp or lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI), under Victorian and Australian government supports available to eligible first-home buyers.
Natasha Luscri-Miller and her husband Luke Miller with dog Milton. The couple bought their first home in 2026. Picture: Jason Edwards
After a six month-long property search, Ms Luscri-Miller was with her mother when she heard their offer on the home had been accepted.
“My mum burst into tears and I was very, very excited,” she said.
Ms Luscri-Miller’s advice for other young homebuyers was to plan how their finances and skill set would work with an abode suited to their lifestyle.
“Then make a plan for what you’re going to do, to add value to your place or to buy a place that’s going to appreciate in value,” she said.
“Look at what has happened in the area. In terms of housing prices, are they still appreciating? Is the area still gentrifying?”
PropTrack figures show Melbourne’s median house pierce reached $1.005m, in April 2026.
Ms Luscri-Miller also recommended investigating if there was a possibility for a railway to be built or for better public transport to be built nearby in the future, along with more local shops, cafes or wine bars, which could help improve a suburb’s wider appeal.
“We were so adamant we were going to buy a unit that was big enough for us, that we could add value to and that we could use our skill set to improve,” Ms Luscri-Miller said.
“And that we would then make, hopefully, a capital gain in order to be able to buy our next property.”
Ms Luscri-Miller, who originally studied International Business and Economics at RMIT University, also recommended avoiding apartments which would not generally improve in capital value.
The couple are planning to gradually renovate their new home where they live with greyhound Milton, following the recent passing of their other greyhound.
Many first-home buyers are now using commodities, cryptocurrency, managed funds and share portfolios to help save their home deposit.
Mr Power said young people were still keen buy their own residence but were usually forced to compromise based on affordability, whether it was through looking at regional areas, smaller properties or rent-vesting.
Mr Power said that compared to five years ago, it was now common for first-home buyers to use various assets to build up their deposit alongside traditional cash savings.
Resources such as commodities like gold or silver, cryptocurrency, managed funds and share portfolios are all in the mix.
But his advice for young people wanting to save up included basics such as cooking more meals at home, having just one streaming subscription service, being smart about discretionary expenses and seeking expert help.
“I’d say really start as early as you can, with as much help as you can, is the best methodology to achieve that target,” Mr Power said.
Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
MORE: Victoria: Ex-World War II prisoner of war camp for sale
Melbourne buyers paralysed by fear as auction clearance rate plummets
English (US) · 