First-home buyer Jessye Young bought a two-bedroom 1970s brick apartment at South Melbourne after renting for more than a decade. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
First-home buyer Jessye Young has skipped over the traditional house dream for a 1970s brick apartment after 10 years renting.
The 30-something buyer used TikTok videos to teach herself the basics of the property market before buying a two-bedroom apartment in South Melbourne with a 5 per cent deposit.
But Ms Young said the search also exposed the harsh reality facing solo buyers, including listings that appeared affordable until annual owners corporation fees of more than $6000 put them out of reach.
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The apartment she eventually bought was below $600,000, a price point she said had attracted strong competition from other buyers trying to get into the market.
“I pictured my first home to be an actual house,” Ms Young said.
“What I’ve ended up buying is a two-bedroom, 1970s brick block apartment.
“It’s definitely not what I pictured five years ago that I’d be doing, but it’s probably the only real option that I have if I want to live in the area that I want to live in.”
Ms Young said she had been renting for more than 10 years before deciding she needed to protect her financial future as a single person.
“I got to a point where I was living on my own again and thinking, what is the next step for me as a single person and how do I protect my future financially?” she said.
Ms Young used TikTok to learn about brokers, conveyancers and buying property before entering the market with a 5 per cent deposit. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
Ms Young said buying her first home had brought huge relief, but also a new layer of pressure.
She added that she did not have many friends who had purchased alone, so she turned to TikTok videos to understand the basics of conveyancers, brokers and the steps required before making an offer.
“I was very naive,” she said.
“Every time I went to see a property, it looked so good on paper and you’d get there and it would be not what you expected.
“The price on the listing might have been something achievable, but the owners corporation was upwards of $6000, so then you go, okay, well that is completely off my list.”
The solo buyer abandoned her dream of owning a house to secure an apartment in the Melbourne neighbourhood where she wanted to live. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
Ms Young said the 5 per cent deposit scheme had made buying feel more achievable, particularly because she did not have to rely on help from her parents.
“With the 5 per cent scheme, it is a lot easier to get in now and you do not necessarily have to rely on other people, like parents,” she said.
Her advice to other younger buyers was to stay open-minded about what ownership could look like.
“Could you buy a house with a friend? It does not have to just look like buying a house with a partner.”
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