Torn Between House Or Holiday

You have scrimped on everything, shopped at Aldi and finally your savings account is looking that little bit healthier.

So is it the deposit for a house or a ticket to another part of the world?

This is being pondered across the country as young people decide whether they want bricks and mortar, or a long-term jaunt.

Statistics released by Suncorp Bank show 74% of people aged between 20 and 30 would dump dining out, junk food and drinking while saving for a first home deposit but less than half would be willing to give up their travel plans.

Alisha Clarkson, 25, has been overseas once – jumping on a plane to Hong Kong for a week when she was 24.

The media sales rep has not filled her passport with stamps, but she has moved in to her own unit in Maroochydore.

“This is my second property. I built a house about three years ago,” Ms Clarkson said. “And when I sold it, I felt like I had to get back into the market.”

Ms Clarkson, who has a friend working as a nanny in the United Kingdom, knew that if she did not reinvest the small sum she made on her first property, she might struggle to re-enter the market without help.

“She has had to start from scratch and she’s visiting all these places on her own,” Ms Clarkson said of her friend.

“My first overseas trip was last year and it wasn’t until I sold my house that I was able to afford to go overseas.”

She said her friends understood her responsibilities but admitted “there’s not too many people like me”.

Ray White Maroochydore principal Dan Sowden, 28, said it was tricky for people to enter the market in their early 20s, unless they were saving as teenagers.

“You’re on a lower rate (of pay) and it’s hard to save deposits,” Mr Sowden said.

“I’ve seen friends buy investment properties and the rent goes a long way to paying interest on the property.

“So if they can save the deposit and have rental returns, they can have a house and travel overseas.”

Mr Sowden said it was hard for first-home buyers to find a home in Maroochydore with its median price of $458,000.

But he said units were available for about $250,000. “But families and siblings often travel, so it’s of equal importance to buying real estate.” he said.

Ms Clarkson said she was hunting the middle ground, planning a brief New Zealand holiday in October, but admitted she appreciated the security of having her own place to call home.

“I wouldn’t do big trips, you do holidays just not working holidays,” she said.

“I like the security of having the house and the job when I come back.”

GEN Y WANTS A HOUSE

Ray White Maroochydore principal Dan Sowden gives his Top 3 tips to Gen Y’s first-home buyers:

• Understand your budget, not only what you can borrow but what you can afford, and factor in possible interest rate rises.
• Research your market, know what you’re looking to buy and what prices are doing in different areas.
• Operate with the timeframe of owning it for five to 10 years. Don’t expect it to turn around before that and have that expectation before making a decision.

Sourec: Owen Jacques – Sunshine Daily