News Corp Australia Network

Thirty dollars a week may not sound like much but it was that saving that prompted one young Townsville couple to get off the rent merry-go-round and build their own home.

Early childhood educator Tayla Mellon, 25, builder Dallas Flanagan, 26, and their son Hudson, 1, moved into their new home at Sanctum in Mount Low a week ago after two years renting in the same suburb.

“It was just getting too expensive to rent and you just never knew if there would be another increase at your next renewal,” Ms Mellon said.

“And there was always that concern that the landlord could choose to not renew when your lease was up.”

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Tayla Mellon and Dallas Flanagan with Hudson, 1, and their new Mt Low home. Picture: Evan Morgan

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The couple purchased the land and engaged a builder, describing the process as “very easy”.

Ms Mellon said they would be paying interest only for the first two years of their mortgage, but once that ended, they estimated they were about $30 better off each week than they were paying rent.

“Of course you are paying for rates and so on, but at least we own it,” she said.

“And now we have that stability insofar as that we know what we can put away without any surprise rent increases.

“For us, it was more the stability and affordability factor.

“It was just cheaper to buy than rent.

“And there is that relief knowing that it is our home and we can do what we want.

“If something needs fixing, we can just get it done without waiting for a property manager.”

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And the young couple are not alone, with Ms Mellon saying that rising rent costs had forced a number of their friends to make the plunge into buying their own home.

“We all talked about it,” she said. “About the cost but also how hard it is out there if you need to find a rental.”

The median house price in Mount Low is $425,000, while the median asking rent is $460 a week.

The indicative gross rental yield in the growing suburb is 5.63 per cent.

The median monthly mortgage repayment is $2058 a month while the median monthly rent costs is around $2000.