Fighting to leave border life behind
SINGLE mum Briana Morris started her interstate house hunt as soon as state borders reopened late last year.
The Northern NSW resident had spent countless hours queuing at the Queensland checkpoint, commuting through Covid to work on the Gold Coast when restrictions allowed.
Ms Morris wants to leave border life behind for good and move to the Currumbin or Elanora areas with her two children, Jayden, 13, and 88-page real estate magazine
Scarlett, 11.
“I work in Currumbin and Scarlett has after-school dance classes here four days a week,” Ms Morris said.
“I’m trying to find a townhouse with a little bit of yard, but a lot of the nicer properties have sold even before we’ve had a chance to get there and see them.
“Either that, or they just seem so overpriced.”
A property priced under $700,000 in the Palm Beach-currumbin High School catchment would be ideal, she said.
The federal government lifted the price cap on its Family Home Guarantee, which included a scheme allowing single parents to purchase a property with a low deposit of two per cent.
Up to 5000 places a year were allocated to singleparent families, with the purchase price cap increased by $100,000 to keep pace with soaring home values.
Latest Proptrack data found both Currumbin Waters and Elanora were eligible suburbs under the scheme, with median unit prices of $646,815 and $660,425 respectively.
Ms Morris, a café manager and aerial instructor, said she had encountered ongoing challenges purchasing a home on a single income.