A 26-year-old Gen Z schoolteacher and her 23-year-old brother purchased a $1.9 million two-bedroom apartment in Sydney’s St Leonards after their parents matched their hard-earned savings for the deposit.
Hard Work and Sacrifices Pay Off
Grace Roseby and her brother Pierce each saved $50,000 for the deposit on the unit at The Collective. Their parents provided an additional $100,000, fulfilling a promise to match whatever the siblings accumulated.
Grace highlights the misconceptions surrounding their achievement. “People are quite quick to assume,” she states. “They judge us on the fact our parents just gave us a handout. They don’t know how hard we worked for the other 50 percent of the deposit or the experiences that shaped our goals.”
To reach their savings target, Grace skipped a gap year after school and went straight to university. She juggled three jobs simultaneously and declined social outings and purchases like shoes to stay focused. “I was always saving,” she adds.
Mother’s Tough Upbringing Drives Support
Grace’s mother, Michele, who owns five properties, draws from her own challenging background to support her children. Raised by a single mother alongside her brother, Michele navigated early independence. “We’d go to school by ourselves at five years of age and come back to an empty home,” she recalls. “Mum was always at the office, so we had to grow up very quickly.”
Tragedy struck when Michele, at 21, lost her 23-year-old brother to an overdose. This experience fueled her determination for self-reliance. “I felt like I needed to be successful in my own right and thought it was important not to rely on others for my success or money,” she says. “I set a goal and went for it.”
Michele offered to match her children’s deposit savings to help them avoid wasting money on rent. She dismisses jealousy from critics: “People who applaud the decision are happy with themselves and where they are in life. The ones who are jealous aren’t in a good place. They’re envious that they haven’t done similar things with their money.”
Rising Parental Assistance in Home Buying
A 2025 survey of over 1,000 Australians reveals that 17 percent of first home buyers received parental help for their deposit, up from 11 percent in 2022. Mozo’s Bank of Mum and Dad Report 2025 indicates that 75 percent of parents providing such aid expect no repayment.
