A 26-year-old Gen Z schoolteacher and her brother overcame skepticism to purchase a $1.9 million two-bedroom apartment in Sydney’s St Leonards suburb, thanks to their parents matching their hard-earned savings.
Hard-Earned Savings Meet Family Support
Grace Roseby and her 23-year-old brother Pierce each contributed $50,000 toward the deposit on the unit at The Collective. Their parents provided an additional $100,000, fulfilling a promise to match whatever the siblings saved.
Grace explains that many people judge the purchase as an easy handout. “I tend not to tell people about our purchase because people are quite quick to assume,” she says. “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 my parents went through to shape our goals.”
To build their savings, the siblings skipped gap years after school and went straight to university. Grace juggled three jobs simultaneously. “I was always saving,” she notes. “I said no to a couple of social events with some friends and to some shoes because I always had the goal in front of me to save.”
Mother’s Tough Upbringing Fuels Generosity
Grace’s mother, Michele, who owns five properties, draws from her own challenging background to support her children. Her grandfather owned several Sydney hotels and divided his estate unevenly, leaving her uncle with the majority after buying out the others. That uncle expanded his wealth with waterfront properties and international ventures.
Raised by a single mother alongside her brother, Michele faced 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 her brother, struggling without a father figure, overdosed at 23, leaving Michele, then 21, to care for their mother. “I felt like I needed to be successful in my own right and thought it was important not to be relying on others for my success or money,” she says. “I set a goal and I went for it.”
Michele aimed to help her children avoid wasting money on rent. She offered to match their deposit savings, viewing it as a smarter path to building equity.
Addressing the Envy
Michele dismisses jealousy from critics. “People have applauded me for the decision and think it’s terrific,” she states. “They’re generally people who are happy with themselves and where they are in life. The ones that are jealous aren’t in a good place in their life. I think they’re envious that they haven’t done similar things with their money and ended up broke.”
She adds that she never resented others’ success: “I admired people who were successful and thought I want to do that too.”
Growing Trend in Parental Home-Buying Aid
A 2025 survey of over 1,000 Australians reveals that 17 percent of first home buyers received parental help for their deposit, up sharply from 11 percent in 2022. Mozo’s Bank of Mum and Dad Report 2025 indicates that 75 percent of parents offering such assistance expect no repayment.
