Young Aussie buys two homes despite not having rich parents

A young tradesman has revealed how he was able to buy two homes without having rich parents or a high-paying job. 

Despite coming from a ‘disadvantaged’ background, Harry Doig, 25, now owns two properties in Queensland and is ambitiously planning to build a real estate empire.

Mr Doig believes that young Australians can afford to buy a home if they are dedicated to saving money and willing to purchase cheaper homes they can  renovate.

His advice for others looking at buying a home is to ‘not be so persistent on getting things on credit’ and urged young people to live within their means

‘It’s not as comfortable but it’s well worth it in the long run,’ he told the Courier Mail.

While saving for a deposit on a low wage, Mr Doig had to reduce his spending on luxuries that many Australians take for granted.

That included cancelling subscriptions like Netflix and avoiding buy-now-pay-later services like ZipPay and Afterpay. He also stopped dining out.

‘Going through those tough circumstances and living off two-minute noodles,  [and dealing with] unpredictable accommodation, high cost of living… I just had to make it work no matter how hard it got,’ he said.

Mr Doig sold most of his tools and eventually saved enough for a 10 per cent deposit on a home. 

However, the young tradesman then faced another challenge: securing a loan.

Mr Doig said he was ‘laughed at’ by a NAB employee when seeking a mortgage, which he said was ‘pretty demoralising’.

Another bank employee said he was denied a loan because he was too ‘high risk’ but was finally given the chance to attain his goal on his third attempt.

The mining mechanic purchased his first home in Allenstown, Rockhampton, for $170,000 in 2021 after pinching every penny possible on his low wage.

After fixing in new doors and adding carpeted flooring, he now rents out the home and has set his sights on another property.

He bought again in January last year, snapping up a $210,000 home on nearby with plans to fully renovate it himself.

He said he was ‘inspired’ to invest in property to help carve a better life for himself.

Mr Doig advises hopeful homeowners to aim for realistic goals by seeking out more affordable properties in the regions, rather than buying in the major cities where prices were soaring out of control.

Despite the Reserve Bank raising interest rates in a bid to curb inflation, property prices in Australia’s capital cities have continued to surge by another 20 per cent in the last year. 

Businessman and Freelancer.com CEO Matt Barrie said a home is considered ‘astronomically unaffordable’ by economists if it costs more than five times the average salary.

In Australia, the average capital-city home is nine times the average salary. In Sydney, it’s an eye-watering 13 times.

‘The root of all evil in this country is the astronomical price of housing. Once you understand all the ramifications of that – it really is the problem that is the root of all problems,’ Mr Barrie said. 

In Sydney, the median house costs about $1.6million, according to Domain’s House Price Report for the March 2024 quarter, with the firm forecasting the median price could hit $2million within the next three years.

It’s the second most expensive city in the world to buy a house behind Hong Kong.

Mr Barrie said it was now mathematically impossible for a household on the median income to pay off a mortgage in Australia.

‘The median wage is about $94,000 a year, where your take-home is about $5,900 a month after tax. On a $1.2million mortgage at current rates, it’s close to a $7,000 per month [in mortgage repayments].

‘Salaries can no longer pay for houses in Sydney,’ he said.

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