Callum James was earning $80,000 annually when he was forced to take drastic action just to pay his mortgage.
James, 26, lives in Perth.
In 2020, when he was working at JB Hi-Fi and earning between $70,000 and $80,000, he was able to purchase his home.
At first, his repayments were manageable, and he paid back $1300 per month on his mortgage, but in July last year, his fixed-rate finished, and overnight, his repayments ballooned to $2400.
James said it was a “harsh” reality to face when he received the letter informing him he would need to find an extra $1,000 every month.
When his fixed rate finished, James had finished working at JB Hi-Fi and had moved on to working in real estate, earning $80,000.
He said that his salary used to be a “decent wage” when he purchased his home in 2020, but by 2024, it had become insufficient.
He said that an $80,000 salary now “makes it tough for people” and that after paying for food, fuel, and rent or mortgage, there’s not much left over.
“Food has gone up, bills have gone up, even on $100,000 you’re still trying to get ahead,” he said.
The 26-year-old said he could “survive” on it, but he couldn’t get ahead, and once his mortgage increased, things got so grim that he started selling things to make his minimum repayments.
“I sold my Xbox and iPad one month just to pay my mortgage,” he told news.com.au.
James said it was one of the “lowest points” of his life and it felt “rough” to have to start selling things just to keep his home.
According to financial comparison website Finder, more than one in three homeowners struggled to pay their home loan in December.
Some 16 percent of mortgage holders have missed at least one mortgage repayment in the past six months, and almost one in three are worried about missing a home loan repayment.
Financial expert Richard Whitten said many homeowners are struggling with immense financial strain.
“We haven’t had a rate cut in four years, and everything else in life has gotten more expensive. With inflation now close to the target range, many Australians are hoping a cut comes soon. But that’s far from certain,” he said.
“With emergency funds exhausted and the RBA yet to indicate substantial interest rate reductions, many homeowners fear for their financial security.”
Working in real estate also made the salary reality starker. People who, a few years ago, would have easily been able to buy a house were struggling to afford one-bedroom apartments.
“$80,000 a few years ago was a good wage. These days you’re not left with enough to even consider (buying); if you do gather a deposit together, you get screwed on your borrowing capacity,” he explained.
“Someone would come to me and say they earn $100,000 but they could only borrow $480,000.”
On paper, a six-figure wage seems very impressive, but even in Perth, the median house price has soared to $1 million, so if you want to get into the property market, it doesn’t always cut it unless you have a big deposit.
James said $80,000 used to be enough to “purchase a house” but by 2024 he needed to change jobs because he needed to make more money.
In the end, James switched careers and now works exclusively in sales because the commission allows him to earn more money, which has been a big financial relief.
“Sales is one of those things, where you’re not tied down to an hourly rate,” he explained.
He also noticed that a few years ago, most of his friends worked in Perth, but as “rates started going up,” all of his mates started working fly-in and fly-out jobs because they couldn’t “survive” on regular wages.
