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An experimental home deposit platform helps first home buyers snag a brand-new property for just $10,000.
For first-time buyers looking to get into the Australian property market, scrimping together a deposit can be a daunting task. But according to property platform Coposit, it doesn’t have to be.
Describing itself as a “home deposit disrupter”, Coposit is a forced savings platform that links up first home buyers with developers. A prospective buyer chooses from a range of off-the-plan properties, then pays a minimum of $10,000 to secure their selected home.
As for the rest of the deposit, it is paid in weekly instalments during the course of construction, until the full 5 per cent or 10 per cent is collected.
Coposit CEO Chris Ferris shared that “the growth of our business is definitely being driven by cost-of-living pressures impacting the capacity of property buyers to save for a deposit”.
“People have the incomes to get on the property ladder, but not many people have $80,000 or $100,000 in the bank.”
“We have a massive housing shortage, which is creating challenges for government at local, state and federal level, while at the same time affordability is being driven up by this lack of supply – meaning property prices are now out of reach, especially for young people,” Mr Ferris explained.
Brothers Chris and Daniel Ferris launched Coposit in their home base of Sydney, where it was slow to take off. In recent months, however, the platform has received an upsurge of interest, and there are currently 38 development projects on the site, compared to five this time last year.
Now, Coposit is setting its sights on Victoria, the ACT and Queensland.
Mr Ferris claimed that property buyers are not the only ones benefitting from the scheme, stating Coposit “enables not only first home buyers, but investors, to pay their deposit as a savings plan, with no additional fees or charges”.
“With the number of developers joining the platform each month and many more exploring the benefits we can offer, Coposit could potentially facilitate up to $1 billion in off-the-plan property transactions over the next year,” the CEO explained.
The platform has reportedly been well received by banks that recognise the financial burdens many young Australians are bearing today.
With the cost of living mounting and unemployment rates shrinking, Coposit believes it could provide prospective buyers with a strategic leg-up into the property market.
“What we have done is looked at the issues and developed a strategy that takes away the burden of coming up with a lump sum of tens of thousands of dollars upfront while allowing people to save for their property,” he concluded.
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