First home buyer Hayley Rodd said compromise was crucial when aiming to get into the current housing market.
"That's the reality of it," she said. "Whether you compromise on location, or a house versus a unit or townhouse, it's a compromise.
"Unless you're in a very good financial situation, you compromise on location, size of the house, or if it's a fixer-upper or ready to go."
Ms Rodd, 34, who works in marketing and partner Nicholas Morphew, 39, a teacher, bought their first home earlier this year.
They opted for a fixer-upper in the more affordable Wollongong suburb of Unanderra.
"If I had my way, we'd probably be living in a non-fixer-upper in (the more expensive suburb of) Balgownie, but for this stage of life, that wasn't where we could be," she said.
They were actively looking to buy a home for four to six months, with a combination of budget restrictions and finding the right location that suited work and lifestyle proving a challenge.
"We wanted to make sure we had a backyard, as we have a dog and my partner loves gardening.
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"The challenge was to find something that fit the bill when it came to budget and area."
Ms Rodd said they hadn't been majorly affected by interest rates since buying; because they purchased a fixer-upper in a less expensive suburb they have a cost-effective mortgage.
"It's still those financial compromises that we're having to make along the renovation journey," she said.
"But we are very grateful to be in a position where we can afford our mortgage, and that we have that breathing space that we had got used to with renting, as you have less financial commitments when you're renting."
Ms Rodd said aspiring first home buyers needed to get their "financial house in order".
"Look at your finances, create a budget, track your budget, make sure you're ready to compromise or cut down on things if you're wanting to save money," she said.
She also had another recommendation for aspiring first home buyers who were "taking the process seriously".
"For us, the biggest thing that was of benefit was to see a financial adviser. The information and education we got from that process was invaluable. It has set us up to be far more financially literate than we ever were previously.
"We read books, listened to podcasts, watched webinars - educating yourself is really important."
By the numbers
CoreLogic head of research Eliza Owen said affordability was an issue across regional Australia.
"It's particularly difficult to buy a home at the moment, because deposit requirements, serviceability assessments and mortgage rates are high - historically affordability has been constrained by one or the other, but rarely both at the same time," she said.
First homebuyers across regional Australia were now facing having to save a whopping $125,523 deposit for a median dwelling with a value of $586,645 across regional Australia.
Ms Owen said some of the biggest barriers to entry for home ownership remain in the more expensive regional centres that are in proximity to capitals on the eastern seaboard.
In the NSW Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven region it took 15.6 years for those on a local median household income to save for a deposit. In the Richmond Tweed area it took 15 years and the Mid North Coast 14.5 years.
And rising interest rates were continuing to bite.
"Soaring interest rates put the average home loan repayment on the median dwelling value at around $2784 per month as of June, based on average new owner-occupier lending rates (5.90 per cent)," Ms Owen said.
"This is up from an estimate on the median dwelling value of $2149 per month a year ago when the average mortgage rate was 3.12 per cent."
Rents
Meanwhile, the median weekly rent in regional Australia was $485 in April 2022; $493 in June 2022; and $517 in June 2023.
Ms Owen said rental affordability has deteriorated sharply for those who have been in the regions for an extended period.
She said many have been crowded out by wealthier migrants from cities, and some towns may have been crowded out by a particular concentration of holiday and short-term rental accommodation.
