The housing market was going to drop 30pc during the pandemic but instead many areas are booming

PHOTO: Caitlin Ketley and Ben Munton bought a house in Chigwell for $400,000. (ABC News: Katri Uibu)

It seemed like the worst possible year to break into the housing market.

When the health impacts of COVID-19 were still being counted, it was already clear the pandemic was going to corner the world into recession.

But despite the prediction the housing market could drop by 30 per cent, experts say many parts of Australia have pulled through stronger than ever.

Caitlin Ketley, 24 and Ben Munton, 27, are among the young people who in 2020 made their first-home-owner dreams come true.

“We thought this year is probably the worst year to try and secure a place,” Ms Ketley said.

It wasn’t. As soon as the couple realised the conditions were favourable — interest rates were “extraordinarily” low, and the government was pushing out stimulus packages — they took on extra shifts, cut back on takeaway coffee and saved as hard as they could.

“I was pretty much working seven days straight and just continuing. You’ve got to get all the shifts that you can to try and save and make sure you can pay back the mortgage,” Ms Ketley, who works in retail and wildlife care, said.

“I guess COVID also helped in that sense as well because no-one could go anywhere.”

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