Erin and her partner earn $200,000… here’s why they’ve given up hope on achieving one of their biggest dreams as a couple

One young woman shared her feelings of hopelessness as she tried to find her way into the housing market, despite earning what many would consider a very comfortable income.

Erin, 28, and her partner earn a combined $200,000 from stable jobs in south-east Queensland and have minimal weekly expenses.

But she feels that their good income is no longer enough.

In today’s economy, middle-income Australians are struggling to save money for a down payment on a home due to high rents and general living costs.

Prospective home buyers in Australia are required to make a minimum deposit of more than $100,000.

PropTrack’s Housing Affordability Report, released on Saturday, also found it takes Australians an average of five years to save money for a down payment on a home.

For Erin and her partner, buying a home in their suburb is an intimidating undertaking.

They live a few kilometres from Brisbane’s CBD, in a suburb where the average house price is more than $1.2 million.

The three-bedroom apartment she and her partner rent is worth about $1.3 million.

Erin said her jaw dropped when she happened to meet an older, former owner of the property.

The lady was looking for some mail that may have been lost when Erin asked her how much she had bought the house, which now costs $1.3 million.

She said she bought it a few decades ago for $200,000.

The 28-year-old woman shared on TikTok that she was told her time to buy a house would come, prompting her to wonder, “When?”

Erin said her last visit to the bank was a terrifying experience as she learned the limits of her borrowing capacity.

“I had a conversation with the bank. I had about $20,000 in savings, which I thought was substantial for what I was making at the time, and he said something like, ‘the (maximum) you can borrow is $300,000,'” she said. news.com.au.

“Man, what the f*** am I gonna buy with $300,000? There was nothing back then and that was five years ago.”

Since that day at the bank, Erin’s salary has gone up, but so have house prices.

Even with her partner, buying a house still feels like an impossible task, Erin says, and talking about it has become taboo between them.

She indicated that they both find the subject too depressing.

The country’s housing crisis has been further exacerbated as competition has pushed up prices even further

Erin is convinced that the only way to buy a house is if she has a windfall. She says that everyone she knows has made a down payment through inheritance or the Bank of Mom and Dad.

“I try not to think about it because I get a little jealous when some of my friends have houses and then they complain to me that their mortgage rates are going up, while you have a house,” she added.

According to the PropTrack report, mortgage costs are at similar levels to 2008, barely below the historic peaks of 1989-1990.

PropTrack’s report found that a household with a median income of $112,000 could afford just 14 percent of the homes sold last year.

Just three years ago, a household with an average income could afford 43 percent of the houses.