First-home buyer reveals shock price gap in property hunt

First-home buyer Rebecca Wolfers and her partner, Mitchell Crossno, at their rental home in Newstead, Brisbane. Pic: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

Rebecca Wolfers’ excitement at finally being ready to buy her first home aged 39 soon turned to frustration, as the properties on her wish list were selling for about $250,000 more than she had budgeted.

The Brisbane data and admin officer earns an above-average salary of $134,000, but must compromise to get into the market as affordability has rapidly deteriorated in the years she has been saving for a deposit.

“You start out being very excited, but it has quickly become one of the most stressful things I’ve ever had to deal with,” Ms Wolfers said.

“It’s been a balance between hope and disappointment.

“You get excited about a place, but then quite disappointed to see how prohibitive the prices have become.”

The couple found prices had “exploded” since they started looking. Pic: Lyndon Mechielsen / Courier Mail

While most recent data from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) put the average age of first home ownership at 36 in 2020, that is trending up at an alarming rate, according to the Institute’s Dr Michael Fotheringham.

“It won’t be long until 40 is the average age of a first-home buyer in Australia, as the average price that first-home buyers are paying continues to skyrocket,” Dr Fotheringham said.

Ms Wolfers and partner Mitchell Crossno, 40, were hoping to buy a three or four-bedroom home in the Bracken Ridge or Bald Hills areas, but found prices were “exploding” since they first discussed moving in together last year.

“We had only been together a year at that point, so we waited, and things have gone up exponentially since then and I would say the limitations are quite extreme,” said Ms Wolfers, who describes herself as “a pure renter my whole life”.

A three-bedroom home in Bald Hills recently sold for $1.005m

Mr Crossno has owned a home previously, but Ms Wolfers has rented since 2013. Over the past five years she saved $40,000, topping it up with an inheritance.

“We were hoping for a home with space for us and hopefully a child, but there seems about a $200,000 difference in prices even from a year ago and we are starting to look at different suburbs that we wouldn’t have considered,” Ms Wolfers said.

The cost of a typical three-bedroom house in Bracken Ridge has soared 10 per cent over the past 12 months, to a median of $885,000, according to PropTrack data.

They have expanded their search. Pic: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

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“We are noticing that places are advertised at a certain amount and sometimes selling for as much as $250,000 over what they were appraised at.”

Ms Wolfers has engaged buyers agent Lauren Jones after experiencing the disappointment of often being outbid by investors.

“Investors have equity they can leverage, and as a first-home buyer I can’t compete with that.

“Engaging Lauren has been a hugely helpful process. It takes the stress off because looking for a house can be quite consuming.”

This four-bedroom house in Bracken Ridge is listed with a $977,000 price tag

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