Mira Almasri, a 35-year-old single mother, rents a one-bedroom apartment in Mosman on Sydney’s affluent North Shore for $600 a week with her two children, aged 9 and 14.
“Everything is expensive in Sydney. Even breathing is expensive,” she said.
Ms Almasri, who works in a bridal shop in central Sydney, said she had given up all hope of owning a home in Sydney.
“It’s impossible to buy in Sydney,” she said.
Stephanie Zizer, 35, first entered the housing market four years ago
“Even if you’re making a ton of money, it’s still hard. All my friends who bought a house in the last two years say they’re not happy at all because they’re paying high interest rates.”
“I get about $1,000 a week after taxes and I pay $600 for a one-bedroom apartment. Add food, gas and electricity to that — it’s too much.”
Ms Almasri, who is originally from Lebanon, has been unable to return home or travel abroad for five years.
“I can’t put any money aside,” she said.
Ms Almasri, who has lived in Australia for 14 years, is looking for a three-bedroom house for her and her two children.
In her current home, she sleeps on a sofa bed in the living room, while her children share the only bedroom with two single beds.
Santos Tiwari, 35, is an entrepreneur who runs several coffee stalls in Sydney and recently opened a dumpling bar in an alleyway off George Street in the CBD.
Zoe Janssen (pictured) works as a paralegal while studying law
Santos Tiwari (pictured) has just opened Dumpling & Momo bar in central Sydney
In 2015, he bought a five-bedroom house in Adelaide, which he rents out for $550 a week.
But he says house prices in his hometown are absurdly high.
“It would be nice to buy one in Sydney, but not for the amount you’re paying now. It’s just ridiculous,” he said.
“I would probably buy somewhere else in Australia other than Sydney.”
Mr Tiwari lives in a two-bedroom harbour-view house in Gladesville, on Sydney’s Lower North Shore, which costs $700 a week.
Jacob Burrows, 22, an electrician from Perth, Western Australia, hopes to buy a home within the next 12 months despite interest rates being at their highest level since 2012.
He did a lot of research, including reading a book about a man who owned 30 properties by the age of 30.
“It’s quite difficult at the moment because everything is so expensive,” he said.
Mira Almasri (pictured), a single mother of two, has given up all hope of home ownership in Sydney because the city is ‘too expensive’
Jacob Burrows (pictured), an electrician from Western Australia, has been studying the housing market and hopes to buy a house within a year
‘A few years ago I wanted to try to understand the market to appreciate what all goes into buying a house. I spent a year or so learning the market and now I’m going to try to look for cheaper houses instead of buying one big house so I can make a smaller down payment.’
Mr Burrows, who is visiting his girlfriend in Sydney, said buying property in the New South Wales capital was out of the question.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “If you buy one small house here, you’ll probably get two houses in Perth.”
Mr Burrows, who now earns $100,000 a year, took up his trade as soon as he left school at 17 and is looking for places to fix up himself.
“You don’t want to compromise too much,” he said. “I took a step back and considered the quality of my life and I realized that if I rented a smaller house, I could have a better lifestyle, travel more, etc.”
He hopes to enter the housing market without help from his parents.
“I’d rather do it myself than have to worry about Mom and Dad,” he said.
Stephanie Zizer, 35, has lived in Sydney all her life.
Mrs. Zizer, who is a full-time mother of her two children, first moved into a home four years ago.
She and her husband, who runs a waste and recycling company, are paying off a four-bedroom house in expensive Vaucluse.
But the recent rate hikes have had an impact.
“Huge,” she said. “There’s obviously been quite a few increases and it’s affecting everyone at the moment.”
Before buying a house with her husband, Mrs. Zizer rented a house in the eastern suburbs.
“It used to be expensive to live in the East, but it was doable back then,” she said.
Garth Johnstone, 25, moved to Sydney from the suburbs of London three and a half years ago.
Mr Johnstone works as a roofer and lives with someone in Darlinghurst, in the east of the city.
“My rent is $450 a week now, but with all the price increases it could go up soon,” he said.
“Some of my friends are paying $500 a week and I’ve heard of hostels where you pay $450 for a bed in an eight-person dorm.”
“It’s a ridiculous price, especially for travelers who want to build a life here.”
Mr Garth, who is training for his roofing license, is in the process of applying for permanent residency and plans to settle in Australia.
He is saving to be able to buy a house within five years.
Garth Johnstone (pictured) plans to settle in Australia after moving from the UK
“The market has grown tremendously recently,” he said.
“It’s pretty awful living here, but I don’t really see myself moving west. But of course the rent is a lot cheaper there and there are more jobs, so I would have to.”
Zoe Janssen, 21, works as a paralegal in central Sydney while completing her law degree and living with her parents in Roseville on the North Shore.
“I don’t have any plans to rent right away because I’ve already paid off everything at home and I’m saving money,” she said.
If she is ready to buy, her dream location would be somewhere near the beach in Sydney.
“Basically anywhere you can go now,” she said.