Three generations of Australian mothers share their different journeys into the property market

Mother’s Day this year is the most special that first-time home-buyer Hannah Velarde has ever known – it gives her the chance to thank both her mother and her grandmother for helping her break into the property market.

“They’ve both been wonderful,” says Hannah, 32, who is expecting her own child later this year. 

“My mum gave me some money to help me with the deposit, which meant I could buy a two-bedroom apartment around the corner from her house.

“And my grandmother let me stay with her while I was saving up so I needn’t pay rent. It was meant to be for six months, but it ended up three years.”

This Mother’s Day, these three generations illustrate the determination women have had through the ages to buy their own homes, and how hard they’ve often had to battle to get there.

Hannah’s grandmother, Pepa Velarde, 86, arrived in Australia from her native Spain in the 1960s with nothing to her name, as part of a federal government migration agreement with Spanish head of state Francisco Franco. 

She’d never even heard of Australia and had even less of an idea what she’d be coming to.

“I came with nothing, not even any English, but I always wanted to buy a house here for security,” says Pepa, who still lives in her own house in Sydney’s Kogarah Bay. “I was always working, working, working.

“I worked in the day and in the night as a cleaner in the houses of the rich people, and I saved and saved all my money. It was very important to me to buy a house so I could get on. And I was very happy to help my favourite granddaughter by having her live here. She’s a very good girl and I’m very happy she is buying her own place.”

Hannah’s mum Malene, 58, is also delighted to see her daughter gain a foothold in the property market, especially as she’s only three minutes’ walk away in Petersham, in the city’s Inner West.

“When I first purchased property, I was working three jobs to make ends meet,” says Malene, who also has two sons, aged 35 and 20. 

“I worked in a bank, I worked as a waitress in a restaurant in Newtown and I had a market research job.

“I had a partner but we split up and I ended up with the property and the mortgage to pay on my own, instead of being paid by two. I think probably Hannah learnt from me that you have to work hard to succeed in life and she’s very regimented in putting money away. I’m very proud of her.”

Hannah, in turn, is extremely proud of both her mother and grandmother, and says she’s fortunate to have them both in her life, and is grateful they’ve helped her so much to buy a home of her own.

Watching on, the agent who sold Hannah her new apartment, Richardson & Wrench Marrickville principal Aris Dendrinos, says women are more and more now doing it for themselves.

“There are so many female buyers around at the moment,” he says. “They all tend to be very organised and very focused on what they want, and very disciplined about getting it. Men seem to take much longer to get their act together.

“It’s a real phenomenon that women turn up to open homes and they’re all ready to go. And with affordability such a challenge, we’re seeing many of our buyers now being helped out by their mothers and fathers.”

New research from Compare the Market has also found that over 56 per cent of Australians would consider getting a joint mortgage with other members of their family, or a friend, if it meant they could get a house.

But great mothers, in particular, can definitely be a huge help.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my mum and my grandmother,” says Hannah, who works in finance. 

“Mum gave me some money to get the ball rolling and my grandparents let me live at their place for three years to allow me to save up. I’m very close to my grandmother as well, and, by the end, she didn’t want me to leave.

“They were both so determined to buy homes of their own, and smart with their money, and I think I’ve learnt those qualities from them, too.”