“I’m basically just waiting for my parents to die,” says Gemma. She is not wishing death on anyone, just realistic about her ability to buy a house, and inheritance may be her only option. Gemma is a single 36-year-old living in Adelaide on a modest salary, and the money she has saved won’t be enough to secure her a deposit on a property anywhere nearby. Even with the support of the 5% deposit scheme, rising house prices and high interest rates mean mortgage repayments would be unmanageable.
Despite facing similar challenges, in 2021, aged 26, I bought my first home. How? A combination of privilege and unfortunate circumstances. The deaths of my father and grandfather left me, an only child, with an inheritance sufficient for a house deposit. Additionally, my husband comes from a middle-class background and thanks to a mum-funded scheme, managed to renovate two houses for profit. With our money combined, we had a 20% deposit for a $555,000 house and money left over to renovate. In Adelaide, this bought us a three-bedroom 60s house on almost 700 sq metres of land. We bought our house in what would kindly be described as an “up-and-coming” suburb, yet two years later there is nothing similar available for the price we paid.
