Your first home does not have to be forever.
We know. You’ve been saving up for years to get the deposit, you’ve gone without holidays, put off a car, or even delayed starting a family in order to purchase a home you can call your own.
But like your first love or your first job, your first step on the property ladder does not have to be forever, and it’s time to be more realistic about where and what kind of home you can buy.
According to the Australian Financial Review, as of December, 2025, the average first home buyer (FHB) can afford to buy only 12 per cent of homes nationally, compared to almost a third of homes five years ago, as dwelling prices rapidly outpace the rate of wage growth.
But there’s good news for FHBs if they can open their minds to the type of property and where it is located. For example, recently, we met first-home buyers 30-somethings Sophie* and Alex and their friends Caitlan* and Dylan.
Both couples have been renting in Coolangatta and working outside the suburb for several years, had made friends there, loved the area, and all had their hearts set on buying their forever home in the popular beach-side location.
However, their dreams of securing a three-to-four-bedroom, two-bathroom detached house on a 600sqm block only a few minutes stroll to lively Marine Parade / Griffith St precinct, and all its beaches, cafes, shops, and amenities, was at odds with each couple’s $165,000 joint incomes, their ability to make large mortgage repayments, and left them feeling stressed and negative.
As of December, 2025, the average house price in 4225 is $2 million plus, and the average unit price around $1.1M. For more than 12 months the quartet had been attending open-houses and auctions, and were increasingly frustrated in their home hunt, but Sophie and Alex refused to compromise on the features they told us their home had to have or where it could be located.
However, after Caitlan and Dylan approached us, we suggested they needed to be more open and expand their options of where and in what kind of property they could live. We asked them what their non-negotiables were versus what they could live without. They told us they wanted a yard so they could get a puppy, live within a 5km drive to the beach, wanted two bedrooms to use one as a home office (Caitlan works remotely two days a week), and were open to doing some cosmetic renovations, but not a fixer-upper – ideally around $895,000.
We listened.
After we showed them some properties in ‘bridesmaid’ areas around Coolangatta such as Tweed Heads and Banora Point, they agreed to consider a townhouse or apartment to get their foot on the property ladder. They were also open to areas like Miami, Varsity Lakes and Robina where it is more affordable.
Now they suddenly had a lot more choice – and if they moved a few hundred metres across the state border into Tweed Heads, they could potentially save at least $200,000 on a unit and around $500,000 on a house. After weighing up the daylight savings issue (both worked on the Gold Coast), and wanting to avoid mortgage stress (spending more than 30 per cent of pre-tax income on their loan repayments), Caitlan and Dylan decided to delay their dream of buying in the premium 4225 postcode.
Several weeks later, we negotiated their purchase of a two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom semi-detached townhouse in Tweed Heads near the river, close to shops and beaches, which needed a few cosmetic updates. Now their weekends are full of plans to pull up the 1970s carpets, paint the living room, and replace door handles and outdated light fixtures.
And while Coolangatta is on their long-term agenda for a potential forever home, they told us they love where they live with Charlie, their new rescue dog, and how happy they are to have their weekends back. “For now, this is our dream home,” they said.
Meanwhile, Sophie and Alex are still stressing out as they watch the price of homes gradually rise.
*Names changed to protect their privacy