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🇦🇺 Australia /Economy & Trade

Single Mother and Buyer's Agent Faces 'Impossible' Perth Housing Market

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • A single mother and buyer's agent in Perth, Tess McKenna, is struggling to find an affordable first home for her four children.
  • McKenna describes the current Perth market as "messy," "unaffordable," and "very limited," with houses under $1 million in established areas becoming scarce.
  • Despite her professional expertise, she faces significant challenges, including living paycheck to paycheck and moving between rentals, highlighting the broader difficulties faced by first-home buyers.

Tess McKenna, a single mother of four in Perth, is navigating the challenging landscape of the city's housing market, seeking an affordable first home for her young family. Working as a buyer's agent, McKenna possesses intimate knowledge of the market's intricacies, yet finds herself increasingly frustrated by its current state.

It's really hard, it's a really hard market. As a single parent, I feel like right now it's very next to impossible for me.

— Tess McKennaTess McKenna, a buyer's agent and single mother in Perth, describing the difficulties of finding an affordable first home.

"It's really hard, it's a really hard market," McKenna stated. "As a single parent, I feel like right now it's very next to impossible for me." She is looking for a home well under $1 million in a desirable, established Perth suburb, but finds the options severely limited. Experts describe the market as "messy," "unaffordable," and "very limited," with a scarcity of affordable homes available.

McKenna's professional role ironically places her at the forefront of the struggles faced by many first-home buyers. She understands the disappointment of seeing listings marked as sold shortly after they appear and the stress of moving between rentals amid rising living costs. "It's very isolating, and there are not many options; you feel like you're going backwards and you're constantly having all this self-doubt thinking that you're failing all the time," she shared.

It's very isolating, and there are not many options; you feel like you're going backwards and you're constantly having all this self-doubt thinking that you're failing all the time

— Tess McKennaTess McKenna reflecting on the emotional toll of the competitive and unaffordable housing market.

Despite making her current rental feel like a home, McKenna's financial situation is precarious, often living "pay cheque to pay cheque." The irony of helping others achieve the "Australian dream" of homeownership while it remains out of reach for herself is not lost on her. "The Australian dream is to own a home, so when it seems so out of reach for people and so impossible, I definitely can relate," she said. Houses around the $600,000 mark close to the city have become almost non-existent, a stark reality in a market where Perth's median house price remains stubbornly high.

The Australian dream is to own a home, so when it seems so out of reach for people and so impossible, I definitely can relate

— Tess McKennaTess McKenna on the challenge of achieving homeownership in the current market, despite helping others do so professionally.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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