Mira Almasri, a 35-year-old single mother, rents a one-bedroom apartment in Mosman on Sydney’s affluent North Shore for $600 a week with her two children, aged nine and 14. .
“Everything is expensive in Sydney. It costs money just to breathe,” she said.
Ms Almasri, who works in a bridal shop in central Sydney, said she had given up all hope of owning a house in Sydney.
“It’s impossible to buy in Sydney,” she said.
Stephanie Seiser, 35, first stepped onto the real estate ladder four years ago.
“Even if you make a lot of money, it’s still hard work. All my friends who bought houses in the last two years say they’re not happy at all because they’re paying high interest rates.”
“I make about $1,000 a week after taxes, but I pay $600 for a one-bedroom apartment. Add in food, gas, and electricity and it’s too much.”
Al-Masri, who is originally from Lebanon, has not been able to return home or travel abroad for the past five years.
“You can’t put money aside,” she said.
Almasri, who has lived in Australia for 14 years, is looking for a three-bedroom home for herself and her two children.
In her current unit, she sleeps on a sofa bed in the living room and the children share the only bedroom with two single beds.
Santos Tiwari, 35, an entrepreneur who owns several coffee stands across Sydney, has just opened Dumpling Bar in an alley off George Street in the CBD.
Zoe Jansen (pictured) works as a paralegal while studying law
Santos Tiwari (pictured) opens Dumpling & Momo bar in central Sydney
He bought a five-bedroom house in Adelaide in 2015, which he rents out for $550 a week.
But real estate prices in his home city are prohibitively high, he says.
“It’s nice to buy in Sydney, but not for the amount you have to pay now. It’s ridiculous,” he said.
“I’ll probably buy it somewhere in Australia rather than Sydney.”
Tiwari lives in a two-bedroom house with harbor views in Gladesville, on Sydney’s north shore, for $700 a week.
Jacob Burrows, 22, an electrician from Perth, Western Australia, hopes to buy a property within the next 12 months, even though interest rates are at their highest since 2012.
He has done a lot of research, including reading a book about a man who owned 30 properties by the age of 30.
“It’s pretty difficult at the moment because everything is expensive,” he said.
Mira Almasri (pictured), a single mother of two, has given up on all hopes of owning a home in Sydney because the city is “too expensive”.
Jacob Burrows (pictured), an electrical engineer from Western Australia, is researching the property market and hopes to buy next year.
“A few years ago, I was trying to understand the market to understand what was involved in buying a home. Instead of buying a big house, I’m going to look for a cheaper house.”
Mr Burrows, who is visiting his girlfriend in Sydney, said buying property in the NSW capital was out of the question.
“That’s ridiculous,” he said. “If you buy one small house here, you can probably buy two houses in Perth.”
Burrows, who now earns $100,000 a year, went into business as soon as he left school at 17 and is looking for a place to renovate.
“We don’t want to compromise too much,” he said. “When I took a step back and weighed my quality of life, I realized that if I rented a smaller house, I would have a better lifestyle, be able to travel more, etc.”
He wants to enter the real estate market without the help of his parents.
“I’d rather do it myself than worry about mom and dad,” he said.
Stephanie Seiser, 35, has lived in Sydney her entire life.
Ms Seiser, a full-time mother of two, first got on the real estate ladder four years ago.
She and her husband, who runs a waste and recycling business, are paying off their four-bedroom house in expensive Vaucluse.
However, recent interest rate hikes are having an impact.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “There’s obviously been a significant increase in numbers and it’s affecting everyone at this point.”
Seiser had been renting properties in the eastern suburbs before buying with her husband.
“Living in the East was always expensive, but we could manage at the time,” she said.
Garth Johnston, 25, moved to Sydney from a London suburb three and a half years ago.
Mr Johnston works as a roofer and has the same residence in Darlinghurst, in the city’s east.
“My rent is $450 this week, but it could go up quickly because of rising prices,” he said.
“Some of my friends are already paying $500 a week, and I’ve heard of some hostels paying $450 for a bed in an eight-person dorm.”
“The prices are outrageous, especially for tourists who are just starting out here.”
Garth is training for a roof plumbing license and plans to settle in Australia with the aim of becoming a permanent resident.
He is saving up to buy a place within the next five years.
Garth Johnston (pictured) plans to put down roots in Australia after moving from the UK
“The market has been surging lately,” he said.
“It’s pretty bad living here, but I’m not really looking to move out west. But obviously the rent is a lot cheaper and there are a lot of jobs, so I might have to.”
Zoe Jansen, 21, works as a paralegal in central Sydney while completing a law degree and lives with her parents in Roseville on the North Shore.
“I don’t plan on renting anytime soon because I’m paying for everything from home and saving money,” she said.
When she’s ready to buy, her dream location will be somewhere near the beaches of Sydney.
“Right now, you can really go anywhere,” she said.