Buying a house is no easy feat, particularly as house prices continue to rise. One Millennial couple were branded “pompous jerks” after they claimed they could not find a suitable home on their budget of $1.8 million.
Engaged couple Mags and Tyson took part in Channel Nine show Buying Blind in a bid to find their dream first home, which sees people hand over control to a panel of experts who buy the contestants a house that they have never even seen, using their money.
Tyson said the real estate market in Sydney as “horrible”, and said: “You’re just watching the houses get further and further out of your reach.”
His bride-to-be said: “It’s volatile, and hard, and we’ve never done it before”.
Read more: How old were you when you bought your first house?
Appearing on the show on Tuesday, Mags and Tyson revealed they made the decision to apply after struggling to plan their upcoming wedding and house-hunt at the same time, but the couple were soon branded “nightmare clients” by interior designer Shaynna Blaze.
And viewers agreed, with people taking to Twitter to slam the couple as “pompous” and “smug” after Tuesday night’s episode of the show, with the majority taking umbrage with the couple’s complaints, despite their generous price bracket.
Meet Mags and Tyson, Australia’s pickiest buyers. How will they go #BuyingBlind? pic.twitter.com/Sv3dqxvdkj
— Buying Blind (@BuyingBlind) June 19, 2018
One viewer wrote: “You know when I heard about this show I thought it was going to show struggling families who need a new home on a tiny budget … not a young Sydney couple who are fussy as hell and have a $1.8 million budget.”
Meanwhile, another user said: “Let’s help out a struggle Aussie couple buy their first home. They have a budget of 1.8 million!!? I’m outta here. Turns the channel….” [sic]
Read more: Buying a house in 1973 versus today: A huge contrast.
However, Mags and Tyson could actually be onto something, as several recent studies have proven that things were in fact a lot simpler when it came to buying a house in the 1970s and ’80s, with housing affordability decreasing across Australia.
ME head of home loans Patrick Nolan said: “Raising money for an initial home deposit has created a financial barrier for new entrants. A deposit for the average priced home represents 139% of an average income in 2016 compared to 86% in 2001.”
Research also found that an increasing number of Millennials are resorting to other methods to find a way onto the property ladder, such as buying a house with friends and family, buying off the plan or loaning money to pay the initial deposit.
Last week, property expert John Fitzgerald advised prospective buyers to take advantage of the bank of mum and dad and “hit up your parents or grandparents” to help them bag their first home.
Read more: Property investor says ‘use bank of mum and dad’ to buy a house.
He told Miranda Devine: “You’ve got to find a way. There are banks who will let you in on a five per cent deposit. If you can save up, save up. Or hit up your parents and grandparents for that stake. If you haven’t got the money, find access to it. I bought my first property in 1983 and I started with $2,500. It sounds scary but they are the hard yards you’ve got to do at the start.”