‘The single tax is evident': Clever tactic 29-year-old used to buy her first home without any help
Taylor Jade Harris is originally from New Zealand, but she moved to Melbourne a few years ago and completely fell in love with the city, quickly deciding she wanted to make it her home.
The 29-year-old corporate worker has been saving for a decade, accumulating over $50,000 for a deposit.
After seeing a mortgage broker, Ms Harris got approved for a loan in January 2025 but, from the outset, she understood it was going to be harder as a single person to crack the property market.
'The single tax is evident. It is to your detriment to be single,' she told news.com.au.
'You only have one income to service the loan and you're just way more risky.'
B uy ing a home on your own isn't easy in 2025
Financial comparison website Finder's 2025 First Home Buyer Report found 34 per cent of women purchased their home as a solo buyer this year.
There's still a significant gender gap, with 44 per cent of men purchasing their first homes on their own.
The gap has widened since Finder's previous report in 2021, where 44 per cent of men bought on their own compared to 38 per cent of women, and the proportion of single first-home buyers overall has fallen from 45 per cent in 2021 to 39 per cent in 2025.
The odds weren't in the 29-year-old's favour, but she was determined to do it.
After attending several inspections, it became unnervingly clear that the competition was fierce, with hundreds of people, particularly couples with two incomes, competing against her.
'When I was looking, it was terrifying,' she said.
The competition to buy is fierce.
Ms Harris would inspect between seven and eight properties every Saturday and she found that real estate agents were 'overwhelmed' with demand.
Often when she inspected popular properties, agents would try to 'force other places' that were less appealing.
'There's quite a famous street in Melbourne called The Avenue, and I think the price guide was like $575,000 to $600,000', she said.
The two-bedroom apartment had natural light and was located in Prahran, a trendy Melbourne suburb, near South Yarra.
Ms Harris expected some interest, but she was surprised by how many people were keen on the property.
Anything that doesn't feel like a cave and is in a good spot is always in demand. However, when she arrived for an inspection, she was blown away.
'There were like 400 people there and the line went all the way down the street. It was one of the most overwhelming things,' she said.
When she inspected the property she said it was just 'overrun' with people, and the apartment ended up selling for over $610,000.
She also found that whenever apartments went to auction, they always ended up selling for a crazy price, and she was quickly priced out.
'Everything going to auction was selling for $100,000 more. It was quite terrifying,' she said.
The market was grim and Ms Harris quickly realised she had to get creative, becoming 'laser focused' on securing a place.
The 29-year-old stretched her budget to find a charming two-bedroom in a trendy suburb, offering $745,000 in March this year.
'I ended up pushing my budget higher to try and thwart the competition,' she explained.
Clever tactic that secured the property
She also wanted to ensure the owner didn't go to auction like planned, so she added a personal touch to her offer.
'I wrote a letter to owner to differentiate myself and sell myself,' she said.
Because competition was so fierce, every time Ms Harris went to an inspection she found she was always trying to sell herself to the agents and make herself memorable.
The letter seemed like a way to let the owner know how much she loved the property and why she was so keen to buy it.
In the heartfelt letter, Ms Harris explained that she would 'regret' not reaching out to the owner personally to explain why she wanted the property.
'I moved to Australia from London just over a year ago, originally from New Zealand, and have been trying to make this country feel like home,' she wrote.
'It's been a big transition, especially doing it solo, but from the moment I stepped into the space, something felt different. It was the first place I've seen where I could truly see myself 'living' and be part of the community.'
The letter worked a treat. She got approved for the place and stopped it from going to auction.
'It was crazy,' she said.
The 29-year-old revealed she lost her voice immediately after she purchased her home, which she put down to the 'stress' involved in buying.
Even after securing the property, she still recalls the agent telling her she had bought at the 'wrong time' because her apartment complex has a pool and it was coming into winter.
'I was like, 'excuse me? I just bought this',' she said.
Ms Harris also admitted that, when she got the keys to her apartment, she got 'cold feet' because it looked so different with no furniture and not styled, but now she is elated that the place is hers.
The young homebuyer said that one lovely thing about buying her own home has been sharing it on TikTok and seeing how it has inspired other women to buy on their own.
'I posted a video and shared that I had bought it, and there were so many comments saying congratulations, especially since I was doing it alone,' she said.
'People had additional questions that were going through a similar journey of being a female solo buyer and it was so cool to help with that.'
Buying a home on your own has become the exception, not the rule
Finder's home loan expert Richard Whitten told news.com.au that buying a property on your own is 'tougher than ever' because of the housing crisis.
'There's almost an assumption that home buyers are couples, because the amount of money required is often too much for one person to cover,' he said.
'A single person's borrowing power is lower than that of a couple with a comparable income. With property prices where they are today and higher deposit requirements and mortgage repayments, solo property buying is an uphill battle.'
Mr Whitten explained that, in general, cost-of-living pressures are 'pushing many Aussies to team up' rather than try to buy solo.
'We're seeing a clear trend towards buying with a partner or even a family member, as people look for creative ways to get their foot on the property ladder,' he said.
'It's no surprise solo buyers are dropping – the financial strain of a mortgage is a lot more manageable when you're splitting it two or even three ways.'
The home loan expert stressed that it is still 'possible to buy alone', but the numbers now show that this is the exception, rather than the rule.
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