The average time it takes a working couple aged 25-34 to save a 20 per cent deposit for an entry-level house is four years and nine months, according to Domain’s 2024 First Home Buyer Report.

Meanwhile, rental prices across Australia have soared in recent years, with higher rents chewing up money that might have otherwise gone towards a deposit.

With many people feeling up against seemingly insurmountable hurdles to home ownership, new schemes and property ownership models offer alternative ways to get onto the property ladder.

The rent-to-own model offers the aspiring first-home buyer an opportunity to lease a dwelling while also saving to buy it.