Chris Jarvis purchased his first home in Labrador four months ago, a three-bedroom house for $680,000. The 38-year-old butcher told Yahoo Finance he was able to save up a $180,000 deposit by putting hours of hard work into his butchery business, GJ’s Organic Meats, which he bought four years ago.
“When I bought the butcher shop I was in debt and I had no money in my account. I had $500 in my wallet and that was it,” he said.
“So it took the whole duration of owning the shop and getting used to paying BAS statements and massive tax bills in between, that can stress you out a bit.
“I’ve always worked. I’ve never really had a day off and I like it that way.”
Over the last four years, Jarvis said he had been able to increase the turnover of his business and keep margins healthy despite being hit with higher costs for goods, electricity and rent.
“My rent has increased 20 per cent on the business in the last few years, which is $1,000 or more extra a month,” he said.
“Plus, the electricity has probably doubled. It used to be $600 and now it’s over $1,000.”
Jarvis said he saved up about $180,000 for a deposit for his first home. ·Source: Supplied
Jarvis said he wouldn’t have been able to keep the business running, plus buy his first home, if he hadn't been working 80 hours a week — opening and closing the business every day.
“I don’t pay myself a very large wage, mind you, I pay my staff more than myself. Everybody probably thinks I’m rich, working 80 hours a week, but I’m definitely not,” he said.
Jarvis said couch surfing with friends also helped him save money for a deposit after he found it difficult to get a rental property for himself.
“Part of saving for the house was I couldn’t justify paying $500 or $600 a week on my own when I could just live and pay my friend a couple of $100 a week and that’s how I saved my money,” he said.
“Up until I bought the house I was couch surfing. We did obtain one nice rental but we were only allowed to have it for six months.”
Jarvis said since he was working so much, he also didn't have time to spend any money and barely bought anything aside from the essentials for himself.
Aussies turning to more affordable areas
Little Real Estate head of property services Anne Crarey said it was becoming rarer for people to save from "scratch" and not receive any help to buy property.
But she said people like Jarvis were making sacrifices and doing what they needed to do to get onto the property ladder.
“People are doing what they have to do. So if they have to work the extra job or if they have to sacrifice on other lifestyle choices, people are doing it,” Crarey told Yahoo Finance.
Crarey said the Gold Coast was an attractive location for owner-occupier buyers at the moment given its affordability and lifestyle factors compared to places like Sydney and Melbourne.
Little Real Estate found owner-occupiers had made a huge comeback on the market in the last six months, making up 85 per cent of attendees at open homes.
Little Real Estate's Anne Crarey said it was becoming rarer for people to save from "scratch" and not receive any help to buy property. ·Source: Little Real Estate/Getty
“I still think there are people that are moving away from the likes of Melbourne and Sydney, especially Sydney,” she said.
“You are getting much more space, you are getting a warmer climate, you are getting a more family friendly environment with parks and theme parks, you’ve got the beach and outdoor lifestyle.
“For you to live as close to the beach in the Gold Coast as you could in Sydney, we’re talking about millions of dollars apart.”
Crarey noted there were a number of suburbs where first-home buyers could nab a home under $800,000.
For houses, that includes Coomera where median house prices are $767,500 and Pimpama where prices are $700,000.
For apartments, it includes suburbs areas like Southport at $420,000 and Labrador at $450,000.
Domain's December 2024 House Price Report, released Thursday, found that the housing market was shifting toward a "rapid slowdown", despite growing values over the final quarter of the year.
The top three suburbs with the most improved affordability were apartments in Chadstone, Victoria, with a median price of $505,000, and houses in Biggera Waters, Queensland at $660,000 and Denman Prospect, ACT at $1,015,000.
While this will lower mortgage repayments, Crarey said it won’t necessarily be good news for first-home buyers.
“What it will actually do is bring more purchases to the market, which will therefore increase competition, which will then drive prices up,” she said.
“It gives people a higher buying power again, which drives prices up. It will also encourage investors to return to the market, which again, will drive prices up.
“So if first-home buyers are holding off for rate cuts, I would suggest they don’t put the rate cut into their equation.”
Jarvis said an interest rate cut and lower repayments would be welcome.
He shared that he was currently renting out a room to his friend, which was helping him cover repayments.
“I had enough money behind me after I put the deposit down to pay the mortgage for a while by myself and as soon as [the Queensland Premier] said you can have people renting with you, he moved it so it made it a lot easier and I don’t really want to live alone,” he said.
Jarvis said he hopes to eventually peel back his hours, bump up his wage and hire more staff to help out with the business.
