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Better save up or buy now?

Published on December 4th, 2020
  Written by 
Bill Tsouvalas
Bill Tsouvalas is the managing director and a key company spokesperson at Savvy. As a personal finance expert, he often shares his insights on a range of topics, being featured on leading news outlets including News Corp publications such as the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun, Fairfax Media publications such as the Australian Financial Review, the Seven Network and more. Bill has over 15 years of experience working in the finance industry and founded Savvy in 2010 with a vision to provide affordable and accessible finance options to all Australians. He has built Savvy from a small asset finance brokerage into a financial comparison website which now attracts close to 2 million Aussies per year and was included in the BRW’s Fast 100 in 2015 as one of the fastest-growing companies in the country. He’s passionate about helping Australians make financially savvy decisions and reviews content across the brand to ensure its accuracy. You can follow Bill on LinkedIn.
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It’s no doubt that buying the home of your dreams is, probably, one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Of course, it’s fun and exciting as well, but that doesn’t diminish the challenge. In this article, we plan on answering a common question that, perhaps, has been on your mind for a while – should I save up, or buy now?

Rent and its benefits

Rent does come with a set of advantages. One of them is that you don’t have to worry about maintenance, ongoing mortgage payments, and interest rates. You don’t have to spend all your spare time at the local hardware store looking for a paint that is high-quality, and that matches the rest of the house.

Nonetheless, rent does have an array of setbacks as well. Rent makes it rather difficult for tenants to save as much as they’d like to. On top of that, if the rent rates in the suburbs are on the rise, your savings account won’t get any bigger. Additionally, the circumstances don't allow you to do everything as you please – change the wall colour, furniture, or other things, unless the owner gives his/her ok.

Buying less, but now

Another direction you could take to become the proud owner of your home is to buy a property you can actually afford. Do you need a house now? You might have various reasons that may put pressure on you such as your family expanding, the birth of your first baby, the fact that you have been relocated with work, and so on.

Hence, if time pressures you, you can decide between a house and a unit. In fact, a unit is less expensive. So, it’s time you ask yourself – do I really need those extra rooms and a beautiful garden? Or better, could I live without them? Alternatively, if you recognise that the suburb you have set your mind to is out of your league, you should look up for zones that are affordable to you.

If you own a home, and you need to upgrade to a bigger one, you can choose between selling the property or maintaining it as an investment for equity to purchase a new one. Of course, the downside to a small home is evident – little space. That is typically more obviously felt by families extending, with babies on the way.

Numbers can give you a hint

You should establish how much you have managed to save for a deposit and the amount of money you can afford to pay on a monthly basis. At the same time, you should consider the eligibility for first-time home buyers’ grants. As a general indicator, a deposit is estimated somewhere around 15 to 20 percent of the whole value of the property. When doing the math, make sure to take into consideration various factors, such as the current expenses including credit card debts, car payments, and student loans not to mention extra home buyer costs that come along the way.

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This guide provides general information and does not consider your individual needs, finances or objectives. We do not make any recommendation or suggestion about which product is best for you based on your specific situation and we do not compare all companies in the market, or all products offered by all companies. It’s always important to consider whether professional financial, legal or taxation advice is appropriate for you before choosing or purchasing a financial product.

The content on our website is produced by experts in the field of finance and reviewed as part of our editorial guidelines. We endeavour to keep all information across our site updated with accurate information.

Approval for home loans is always subject to our lender’s terms, conditions and qualification criteria. Lenders will undertake a credit check in line with responsible lending obligations to help determine whether you’re in a position to take on the loan you’re applying for.

The interest rate, comparison rate, fees and monthly repayments will depend on factors specific to your profile, such as your financial situation, as well as others, such as the loan’s size and your chosen repayment term. Costs such as broker fees, redraw fees or early repayment fees, and cost savings such as fee waivers, aren’t included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts may result in a different comparison rate.

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