Parent’s $1 million property gift for 4-year-old in growing inheritance trend: 'Do something now'
A Sydney couple have revealed why they decided to buy their four-year-old daughter a $1 million property rather than wait decades to give her an inheritance down the track. While it’s a unique example, property experts say more parents are helping their kids get onto the property ladder as prices continue to skyrocket.
Northern Beaches couple Mark and Alana recently bought a one-bedroom apartment for their young daughter, Willoughby. The couple, who both work in sales for cybersecurity firms, said they wanted to create a sort of “insurance” policy for their daughter and try to set her up for the future now.
“I wanted to try and do something now so that no matter what happens to me, there will be something for my daughter one day,” Mark told Yahoo Finance.
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“Think of it like buying insurance. You buy life insurance and all these other kinds of insurance. This is like buying insurance for my daughter’s future.
“I know that this thing’s going to be rented and paid for one day and so that security is what we needed for our daughter.”
The home is in the new Willoughby Grounds development, which is set to be completed in August. The couple previously lived in Willoughby, with their daughter named after the lower North Shore suburb, so they took the apartment as a sign.
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Mark said he didn’t grow up with a lot of money himself, and his parents did not help him buy his first property and would not give him an inheritance when they passed.
The 45-year-old said this will be the main inheritance they pass down to their daughter. He said he would prefer to give her a financial leg when she needs it rather than waiting.
“I hate the word inheritance. Waiting for someone to die is the old way of thinking,” he said.
“Let’s say I live until 80. What will my daughter want to do with money when she’s already made her own life and everything?
“A lot of people might disagree, but I think [you should be] giving people the help when they need it, versus one rainy day when you pass away.”
Parents helping kids onto property market
The couple is an example of a growing trend of parents who are stepping in to help their kids enter a surging property market.
Mozo research found parents were gifting $74,040 on average to their kids to help with home loan deposits. Three in four parents who help their kids don’t expect to be repaid.