A young woman with a property portfolio worth over $1 million in Sydney has revealed how she went from $0 savings to owning her own home at age 21.
Katie King, 24, owns two homes in Sydney’s notoriously pricey real estate market in the suburbs of Hillsdale and Auburn.
The young property mogul, from Matraville, eastern Sydney, spoke to Daily Mail Australia about the sacrifices she made in order to save enough for her first two-bedroom unit for $460,000 in 2014 and her second home for $380,000.
Katie King, 24, (pictured right with her partner) owns two homes in Sydney’s notoriously pricey real estate market in Hillsdale and Auburn
The young property mogul (pictured), from Matraville, eastern Sydney, spoke to Daily Mail Australia about the sacrifices she made in order to save enough for her first two-bedroom unit
‘I didn’t go out a lot once I turned 18, I worked a lot and went to uni straight after high school so in that sense I sacrificed some of my youth to buy my properties,’ Ms King explained.
‘I also started a full-time salaried job at 20 whilst still at university so I didn’t have much time to go and spend money.’
Ms King – who works as a retail promotions coordinator – started reading books on saving money and real estate from the age of 16 and resolved to knuckle down and save hard during her late teens.
‘I became interested in buying a property and knew that it wouldn’t be easy to come up with such a large sum of money overnight so knew I had to start saving ASAP,’ she said.
‘I was also reading books such a Rich Dad, Poor Dad and the Richest Man in Babylon which taught me the importance of creating wealth and knew that buying property would help me increase my long-term wealth.’
Ms King (pictured) – who works as a retail promotions coordinator – started reading books on saving money and real estate from the age of 16 and resolved to knuckle down and save hard during her late teens
Despite making sacrifices in her teenage years and well into early 20s, the property investor (right) said young people shouldn’t stop enjoying their lives for the sake of owning a home.
Ms King bought her second property (Pictured) in Auburn, western Sydney for $380,000
Despite making sacrifices in her teenage years and well into her early 20s, the property investor said young people shouldn’t stop enjoying their lives for the sake of owning a home.
‘I believe you can’t live your life and not enjoy a good smashed avocado and latte when you catch up with friends. Everything in moderation,’ she said.
However the perils of FOMO (fear of missing out) can derail even the most ambitious first-home buyer.
She said too many young people throw in the towel before even trying to save cash and blow their savings quickly and irrationally.
‘You can’t expect to save a large amount of money overnight, it takes a lot of planning and commitment,’ Ms King (pictured) said
The young investor bought her first two-bedroom unit (pictured) for $460,000 in Hillsdale in 2014
Despite making sacrifices in her teenage years and well into her early 20s, the property investor said young people shouldn’t stop enjoying their lives for the sake of owning a home (Pictured is her unit in Hillsdale)
‘You can’t expect to save a large amount of money overnight, it takes a lot of planning and commitment,’ Ms King added.
‘FOMO is something that affects our generation especially with the rise of social media. Focus on where you want to be and what you want to achieve & set goals. There’s an old saying, ‘by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail’.’
Ms King’s ambitions for the future are clear: she wants to have a $5 million property portfolio by the time she turns 30.
Ms King (pictured left) said too many young people throw in the towel before even trying to save cash and blow their savings quickly and irrationally
Her advice for other young people disheartened by Sydney’s skyrocketing house prices is to come up with a feasible plan and to cut out some unnecessary purchases.
‘Plan! Take the time to sit down, write out a five-year plan and stick to it. Budgeting is also a great way to see where you can save money, often we don’t realise how much we spend on everyday items,’ she advised.
‘Simple things like cutting out a take away coffee everyday can add up to $1,000 a year.
Lastly, save at least 10 per cent or more of your pay – this is great way to save money, but also a great habit to get into to make sure you always have money available especially when you own a property and any unforeseen expenses come up.’