David Koch gives a brutal message to boomers they DON’T want to hear – as he reveals why so many hard-working young Aussies are struggling

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. Even breathing is expensive,” she said.

Ms Almasri, who works at a bridal shop in central Sydney, said she had given up all hope of owning her own home in Sydney.

“It’s impossible to buy in Sydney,” she said.

“Even if you make a lot of money, it’s still hard. All my friends who have bought houses in the last two years say they are not happy at all because they are paying high interest rates.”

“I get about $1,000 a week, after taxes, and I pay $600 for a one-bedroom apartment. Add food, petrol and electricity to that: it’s too much.’

Ms Almasri, who is originally from Lebanon, has been unable to return home or travel abroad for five years.

“I can’t put money aside,” she said.

Ms Almasri, who has lived in Australia for 14 years, is looking for a three-bedroom house for herself and her two children.

In her current unit, she sleeps on a sofa bed in the living room, while her children share the only bedroom with two single beds.

Santos Tiwari, 35, is an entrepreneur who runs several coffee shops in Sydney and has just opened a dumpling bar in an alley off George Street in the CBD.

He bought a five-bedroom house in Adelaide in 2015, which he rents out for $550 dollars a week.

But he says real estate in his hometown is absurdly expensive.

“It would be nice to buy one in Sydney, but not the amount you have to pay now – it’s just ridiculous,” he said.

“I’d probably buy somewhere else in Australia other than Sydney.”

Mr Tiwari lives in a two-bedroom house with harbor views in Gladesville, on Sydney’s lower north shore, that costs $700 a week.

Jacob Burrows, 22, an electrician from Perth, Western Australia, hopes to buy a property within the next 12 months, despite interest rates being at their highest level since 2012.

He did a lot of research, including reading a book about a man who owned thirty properties at the age of 30.

“It’s quite difficult right now because everything is so expensive,” he said.

‘A few years ago I wanted to try to understand the market and what was involved in buying a house. I’ve spent a year or so getting to know the housing market and now I’m going to try to look for cheaper houses instead of buying one big one so I can have a smaller deposit.’

Mr Burrows, who is visiting his girlfriend in Sydney, said buying property in the NSW capital is out of the question.

“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “If you buy one small property here, you’ll probably get two houses in Perth.”

Mr Burrows, who now earns $100,000 a year, took up his profession as soon as he left school at 17 and is looking for places he could renovate himself.

“You don’t want to compromise too much,” he said. ‘I took a step back and weighed the quality of my life. I realized that if I rented a smaller house, I could have a better lifestyle, travel more, etc.”

He hopes to enter the real estate market without help from his parents.

“I’d rather do it myself than worry about mom and dad,” he said.

Stephanie Zizer, 35, has lived in Sydney all her life.

Ms Zizer, a full-time mother to her two children, first got on the property ladder four years ago.

She and her husband, who runs a waste and recycling company, are paying off a four-bedroom house in expensive Vaucluse.

But the recent interest rate hikes have had an impact on them.

“Huge,” she said. “There have obviously been quite a few increases and this is affecting everyone at the moment.”

Before purchasing with her husband, Ms. Zizer rented a house in the eastern suburbs.

“It’s always been expensive to live in the East, but it was manageable back then,” she said.

Garth Johnstone, 25, moved to Sydney from the outskirts of London three and a half years ago.

Mr Johnstone works as a roofer and shares a house in Darlinghurst in the east of the city.

“My rent is currently $450 a week, but with all the price increases it may go up soon,” he said.

“Some of my friends have already spent up to $500 a week and I’ve heard of some hostels where you pay $450 for a bed in an eight-person dorm.”

“It’s an insane price, especially for travelers trying to build a life here.”

Mr Garth, who is training for his roof plumber license, is working towards permanent residency and plans to settle in Australia.

He is saving to buy a house within the next five years.

“The market has gone up a lot lately,” he said.

“It’s pretty awful to live here, but I can’t really see myself moving to the far west, but obviously there are much cheaper rents and more jobs too, so maybe it should be done.”

Zoe Janssen, 21, works as a paralegal in central Sydney while completing her law degree and living with her parents in Roseville on the North Coast.

“I have no plans to rent right away because everything is paid for at home and I’m saving money,” she said.

When she’s ready to buy, her dream location would be somewhere near the beach in Sydney.

“Really anywhere you can go right now,” she said.