A home and a foundation for the future
For university students Ali and Parya, Believe Housing Australia’s new Panorama development is more than just a place to live – it’s the foundation of an independent life and future together.
Panorama is a newly completed four-level apartment building comprising 23 high-quality affordable rental apartments, owned and managed by Believe Housing Australia.
The young couple, both 25 years old, met five years ago and were engaged two years later, until recently they had been living part-time with each other’s parents.
“Ever since we got engaged, we’ve been looking for housing,” Ali said. ”But everything was outside of our budget.
“We’re both at university, I’m a PhD student and Parya is studying pharmaceutical science. Thankfully we have scholarships but in the current climate, it doesn’t really amount to much.
“With my research, I needed to stay within a reasonable distance to Flinders University, but everything was just completely out of our price range – we just couldn’t afford it.”
Ali, who is months away from completing his studies into multiple myeloma (blood cancer) and the design of nanotherapeutic treatments, said when they heard about the Panorama development, they jumped at the opportunity to apply.
They were beyond ecstatic then when they received the call that they had secured an apartment, ending years of frustration.
“You propose to someone, and you try to build a life together, but you’re essentially jumping from house to house,” he recalled of the house hunt.
“You know that you’ve got another two years left on your PhD which in reality means you have at least three years left of only being able to earn a certain amount.
“So, then that sets a frustrating timeframe that you probably won’t be able to move out until you’re much older, especially when you’re wanting to become independent, start a life, and talk about things like having kids.
“But now this is incredible, and everyone living here has been in a similar situation struggling to find a home – it’s such a great community.”
The Panorama project provides high-quality and affordable rental housing for a diverse community, including tenants with disability. It featured a mix of 18 typical two-bedroom apartments and five Fully Accessible Specialist Disability Accommodation SDA apartments ensuring a welcoming, inclusive, and supportive living environment.
Retaining all apartments in the Believe Housing Australia portfolio and enabling them to stay as social and affordable rental apartments was made possible by the awarding of support from the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF). Without this support the majority would have had to be sold to the private market to fund this development.
