A young Australian woman has criticised the government’s first-time homebuyer grant and revealed why it has made her feel more “excluded”.
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Australians over the age of 18 who are buying their first property can qualify for a $10,000 grant, but the grant is only available to buyers of new or significantly renovated homes.
Ms Malcolm, 31, bought her first home in Brisbane in March last year, a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment, but the grant didn’t help her at all.
“I was living completely alone, had no help from my parents, and had saved money for a long time,” she told news.com.au.
The project manager said it took her five years of saving and bringing her own coffee to work to earn the $80,000 deposit.
“It wasn’t the $4 espresso that kept me from buying a house,” she said, “but it got to the point where every dollar I could save became important.”
“As long as I had enough money to deposit, my goal would change and I would need more,” she said.
Jazmin bought the place herself without any help. Photo: Instagram/Jazmin Malcolm
I’ve been saving money for half a decade. Photo: Instagram/Jazmin Malcolm
During those five years, she saved as much as she could. She explored every avenue that might help her enter the real estate market, and the first-home buyer’s grant, while tempting on paper, was completely impractical.
The fact that she had to buy something new to qualify made it practically impossible for the 31-year-old.
“The grant could not be used. It meant that I would be far from all the facilities that might be useful. I would be far from my workplace, far from my social life, and that is not what I was looking for,” she explained.
“I go to the running club, and I do everything I can to have a happy social life, but if I bought a house under the First Home Buyer Grant, I would be living too far away from where I would be able to enjoy the things that bring me happiness.”
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The young Australian man managed to save $80,000. Photo: Instagram/Jazmin Malcolm
Finance Group loans.com.au Managing director Mary Mortimer said the main aim of the First-Time Homeowners Grant should be to help aspiring first-time homeowners, which can best be done by giving them maximum flexibility in terms of where they buy.
“Buying a home is not just about putting a roof over your head, it’s about committing to a community you want to live in, in a suburb that may already be established,” Ms Mortimer said.
“Forcing first-time homebuyers to abandon existing homes in communities where their friends and family live, in order to access a grant elsewhere, is bad policy.”
Ms Malcolm said she would have been happy to buy a new building, but anywhere in Brisbane offering new apartments was out of her price range and if she went any further she would be removing herself from her social life.
“I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. You could get help buying a house but you weren’t close to anything that would help you enjoy the rest of your life,” she said.
She wanted to stay close to work. Photo: Instagram/Jazmin Malcolm
She bought an apartment. Photo: Instagram/Jazmin Malcolm
During her careful search for housing, Ms. Malcolm explored every possibility, and discovered that any government assistance she was eligible for did not meet any of her needs.
“In the five years I was looking for a home to buy, I didn’t have a very useful option that I felt fit my needs or the needs of my generation,” she said.
The fact that no government official could help her get suitable housing meant that she really had to think about what she could afford, especially since she did not believe that she should be “barred” from social enjoyment.
In the end, she chose a small apartment in Morningside. She is very happy to have her own apartment, but due to budget constraints, it is modest.
“When I first bought it, my mom told me it was an expensive toilet because it was so small,” she said.
“Honestly, all I could do was have it close to amenities, close to the bus station and the city.”
