A young property investor has given a harsh lesson in reality to young people trying to break into the market but unwilling to make concessions to stay within their budget.
Jack Henderson, 27, bought his first property at 18 while working in construction and living at home in western Sydney. At 21, he moved to Newcastle and opened his buyer’s agency, Henderson Advocacy, in 2020. He now owns 15 homes.
Mr Henderson believes that buying a home is more attainable than many people think, but it requires more sacrifice.
You often see young Australians refusing to buy in less desirable suburbs because they want the best right away.
A three-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Bidwill sold earlier this year for $730,000, but he said most young Australians today would not consider such a purchase because it is 46km west of Sydney.
“My parents started out in a place called Bidwill, near Mount Druitt,” he said.
‘That’s where they started, they probably paid $50,000 or $60,000 at the time for that very house.
‘Now it’s worth $500,000 or $600,000, maybe $700,000.
‘They went from Bidwill to Wilberforce where they bought something for $180,000 and sold that $180,000 house for $575,000 and bought something for $630,000; sold the $630,000 house for $2.2 million.
‘They’ve retired now and that’s a 40-year journey, but that was what they could afford at the time.
“My mother grew up in a homeowners’ association and my father grew up alone. Their situation couldn’t have been worse. But they started where they could afford it.”
Mr. Henderson attributed his parents’ real estate success to the fact that “they didn’t go overboard and just built slowly.”
“But in 2024, people won’t do that. Everyone has a right to it. Everyone wants this and that and doesn’t want to work for it,” he said.
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‘People want to appear to be something they are not.
“I would love to live in a waterfront location in Point Piper, but I can’t afford it. That’s the reality.”
Mr Henderson bought his first home, a two-bedroom apartment in Coogee, for $720,000 at the age of 18.
He believes a big part of the reason young Australians struggle to buy their first property is the need to keep up with the “Instagram life”.
“It’s not cool to say you live in a certain suburb when it’s not as glamorous as everyone wants it to be,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
“I think the biggest problem is that people want the best and they also want to eat it. They also want to travel to Europe once a year and drive the best car.
‘You’re going to make sacrifices anyway, so you can choose to be young and make sacrifices or you can choose to be old and make sacrifices.’
Jack Henderson (pictured) has berated young Australians for feeling “entitled” to tackle the property market
The property guru himself rents a flat in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, but would never consider buying in the suburb because it is too expensive.
As for how young Australians can get ahead and build a “good life” in the future, Mr Henderson recommended saving for a deposit as soon as possible.
“I would recommend first-time home buyers to live in their first property because they can take advantage of the incentives – in NSW there is a five per cent deposit, no mortgages from lenders and no stamp duty,” he said.
‘It is unlikely that the place where you buy your first property will be the same place where you will buy your last property.
‘I grew up in a place called Wilberforce, which is 65 kilometres north-west of Sydney. You can still buy property in and around that area for around $700,000.
‘Last week we purchased a house in Ipswich for a client for $480,000. It’s 40 minutes from downtown Brisbane.
“It’s not the most glamorous area, but it’s a start.”
As to why Mr Henderson likes to push the advice on young people, he warned that it is becoming increasingly difficult to buy property as an adult.
“As you get older and advance in your career, you have more commitments,” he said.
‘Could be It’s harder to borrow money from a bank when you’re renting, have a child, or perhaps are a single parent – it’s all relative.
“So the sooner you do it, the less likely you are to get it and the easier it will be, that’s a fact.”
Mr Henderson said Sydney buyers were unwilling to compromise on a home in the western suburbs and instead hoped to buy a waterfront home straight away.
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