"Ultimately, we could afford to buy a great home just 10 kilometres from the city.”
First home buyers Ashley and Dylan bought an affordable home through HomeSeeker SA at Woodville Gardens and should move in before the end of 2024.
“We had been looking sporadically at the real estate websites to monitor the market, and then one of the agents alerted us to an advertisement for a $5,000 deposit property build, so we looked further into it and jumped on the HomeSeeker SA website to see if we were eligible,” says Ashley.
“I like the way the houses that are for sale are set out on the HomeSeeker SA website, in particular areas around Adelaide, so you can navigate whether you want to live in the west, or east, etc, or whether you want to move to the outer regions – that was good to know.”
As first home buyers, 32-year-old Ashley and 35-year-old Dylan were able to access South Australia’s First Home Owner’s Grant scheme and other government assistance has helped them buy their new affordable home.
Eligible South Australian first home buyers can claim a grant of up to $15,000 if they are building a new home, and the home will be their principal place of residence. First home buyers may also be eligible for stamp duty relief.
Ashley says the government assistance saved them around $40,000.
“A multitude of factors influenced our decisions. Being first home buyers, we definitely wanted to utilise the government grant for first home ownership. That bit of extra cash obviously helps. Because we were building, the bonus was being eligible for the stamp duty exemption,” says Ashley.
“Location was also important to us. We did consider going further north to the Two Wells and Angle Vale area, but ultimately, we could afford to buy a great home at Woodville Gardens, which is just 10 kilometres from the city.”
Ashley says they had to make some sacrifices to make sure they could save for a deposit.
“We lived for a year with Dylan’s mum and then moved into my parent’s home – we had abandoned any idea of renting for 12 months prior to saving for a deposit, and we were 12 months into our savings when this opportunity came up,” she says.
“Dylan was concerned that we were heading on the homebuying path a little prematurely based on where our savings were at, but once we had spoken to a broker and got some financial advice the opportunity to buy an affordable home was actually good timing.”
Ashley and Dylan’s new affordable home through HomeSeeker SA at Woodville Gardens should be ready in early December 2024.
