Think you can’t afford property? Try these 5 smart ways to buy your first home

Everyone has an opinion about how to buy a property, including your parents, a mortgage broker, the bank, the internet. It can feel overwhelming, like a million competing priorities against the backdrop of skyrocketing prices and a nagging feeling you might never get there.

Buying a home today is genuinely harder than it used to be. With property prices growing at roughly twice the rate of wages, you could be saving forever. But that doesn’t mean giving up. New models are creating real pathways into the market, including ones you might not have considered.

First, let’s clear up a few myths.

Myth 1. You need a big deposit

You don’t. The deposit barrier is real, but it’s not the only way in.

For many Australians – people with good incomes, low debt, paying a fortune in rent – the problem isn’t serviceability. It’s that you can’t save faster than prices are rising. That’s a structural problem, not a personal failing, and a number of emerging lenders are filling the gap.

Myth 2. Only houses go up in value

This is no longer true. In parts of Sydney and Brisbane, unit price growth has outpaced house growth as a percentage.

With more Australians moving into apartments and townhouses, growth opportunities exist across a range of housing types. However, it’s very suburb-specific, so do your research.

Myth 3. Rent money is dead money

Rent money isn’t always dead money. It buys you flexibility, the right location, and proximity to work and community. The traditional drawback has been insecurity but that’s changing, as I’ll explain below.

New ways to buy property

1. With a low deposit

The Federal Government’s First Home Guarantee allows first-home buyers to purchase with just 5 per cent (or 2 per cent for single parents) with the government covering your Lender’s Mortgage Insurance.

Expanded to unlimited places in 2025, it’s one of the most widely used pathways. You still need borrowing capacity, and the scheme has pushed up prices slightly at the affordable end. But for buyers with some savings, it removes a real barrier.

2. With government shared equity

The federal Help to Buy scheme lets the government co-purchase with you, contributing 30 per cent for an existing home or 40 per cent for a new build.

You front up 60-70 per cent, plus a minimum 2 per cent deposit, and the government shares in any capital gains when you sell.

Income caps apply ($100,000 for singles and $160,000 for couples) but these change regularly. Most states run their own versions, so check your state housing authority, as these change frequently.

3. In an owner-occupier development

Nightingale Housing in Melbourne builds sustainably designed apartments and sells them only to owner-occupiers, never investors. By removing developer margins, car parks, display suites and agents (and replacing them with shared rooftop laundries, gardens and communal spaces), the model keeps prices genuinely lower.

The contractual restriction on resale to owner-occupiers limits speculation. The result is more affordable housing and an intentional community where people actually want to know their neighbours.

4. Rent-vesting

The concept of rent-vesting involves buying an investment property in an area you can afford while renting where you want to live.

According to Westpac’s 2025 research, 54 per cent of first-home buyers are considering this strategy. You build equity without sacrificing lifestyle or proximity to work.

The risks are real – managing tenants, ongoing costs, continued rental insecurity – but for many it’s a three to seven-year bridge before converting that investment into a principal residence.

5. Build-to-rent

Build-to-rent doesn’t lead to ownership, but it solves the security problem. These purpose-built rental developments offer leases of up to 10 years and flexibility to have pets, paint the walls, and treat it as your own.

The developments are also professionally managed. There are often organised social events and plenty of amenities. While build-to-rent may cost more on average than a standard rental, there are no absent landlords, no surprise rent hikes and long-term security, so you can really live your life. 

There are many other models worth knowing about, such as co-living, co-housing, community land trusts, land-lease communities and more.

The point is this: the traditional binary of “buy or rent, apartment or house” is breaking down. There are more options than you’re probably aware of. The Great Australian Dream isn’t dead, it’s evolving.