With the cost of living crisis taking its toll on Australian households, one Queensland real estate agency has taken matters into its own hands.
Ray White AKG has announced a competition open to anyone in Queensland to win $12,000 towards their rent or mortgage payments for six months, being sponsored in partnership with RealtyAssist.
The agency, with offices in Marsden, Daisy Hill, Eight Mile Plains, Brookwater, and Springfield, sees the giveaway as a way to give back to the communities they serve, Ray White AKG owner Avi Khan said.
“We recognise that cost of living pressures are very real, it’s hard for many people right now. It’s hard for many tenants and mortgage holders to make ends meet and we want to help,” Mr Khan said.
“We are a community-focused agency… We want to be known as the agency that cares.”
The competition is open to both tenants and mortgage holders.
The agency will use a random system generator to choose the winner and will film it live on their social media pages.
The competition is open for 45 days.
“We hope community groups see us doing this and reach out, as our agents and staff want to give back more,” Mr Khan said.
“Ultimately we want to improve the communities we live in.
“This campaign we hope also highlights the cost of living pressures out there for everyday Queenslanders and it starts a wider conversation about rental affordability and cost of borrowing, especially for first-home owners.”
The agency has already received an overwhelming response to the competition.
“There were more than 1400 entries in the first two hours of the competition going live on social media,” Mr Khan said.
“We are excited that a like-minded company like Realty Assist Australia came onboard to help us execute our vision.
“There’s $12,000 up for grabs, which could be a dream come true for someone.”
Cost of living increases
The cost of living increased dramatically over 2022 and continues to rise.
The Consumer Price Index (the measure used to monitor cost of living) rose 7.8 per cent in the 12 months to December – higher than the predicted 7.5 per cent and well above the historical average.
Both rents and mortgage repayments have increased dramatically in the past 12 months.
Across the combined capitals house rents soared 14.6 per cent while units climbed 17.6 per cent in 2022, with rents at record highs across all cities, apart from Darwin, and in Perth for units, according to recent figures from Domain.
Meanwhile, comparison website Finder recently reported that the average mortgage holder would be handing over an addition $12,000 a year in interest following the RBA’s cash rate rises.
“Australians with the average loan size of around $600k will be paying $1,000 more per month compared to what they were paying in April last year,” Graham Cooke, head of consumer research at Finder, said.
“That’s a significant amount of extra money to allocate towards your mortgage every month – especially when household budgets are already stretched thin.”
Queensland tenants and mortgage holders can enter the competition here.
