Young couple priced out of a home

12:00a.m. 29th February 2008

| By Jane Gardner

Brent, Kiara, 1, and Cassie Muller, outside their granny flat in Buderim. Pic: Che Chapman

Buderim's Cassandra Muller described the tough situation facing her young family in her Your Coast Your Say survey response.

She, husband Brent and baby Kiara live in a granny flat at her mother’s house in Buderim.

They finished building the flat in November 2006 so in five years they can take the equity out to buy their own home.

It wasn’t how they wanted to do it, but with another baby on the way and only one income, the family were priced out of the housing market.

“We ultimately wanted to own our own home before we got married and had kids but we couldn’t afford it,” Ms Muller, 21, said.

“The place mum is in now she bought six years ago for $135,000. If houses were still like that we’d own our own home. To get something with three bedrooms now is $300,000 to $400,000 and we can’t afford $600 a week.”

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Posted by lovethecoast from Buderim

on 29 February, 2008 at 2:15 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I wanted to buy a property when I was that age too, but it took years of saving for a deposit before I got onto the bottom rung with a 2-bed renovator. There was no way I could afford to live in the same suburb that I grew up in: my parents had a 30 year head-start on me and, like Buderim, their suburb had boomed to the point that no first-time buyers could afford to live there.

So, this couple in their early 20s can't afford to live in Buderim? Well I'm sorry but neither can a lot of people in this world.

The Sunshine Coast is a very desirable place to live and so long as restrictions are placed on development we will see prices go up and up and up.

A quick look at realestate.com.au shows a 2-bed property in Maroochydore for $135k. It looks a lot nicer than my first property. It's the bottom rung of the ladder and it's exactly the same place as most people in this world start their life as property owners.

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