I worked 80 hours a week for years to afford my first house when I was 23. Now I’m working harder than ever to just keep it, and one question keeps popping up in my mind.

A young Australian has revealed she regularly questions whether owning a house is worth it, claiming she is working harder than ever just to afford loan repayments.

Maddie Walton, 26, worked 80 hours a week and juggled two jobs for years before she was finally able to buy her first property in Queensland at the age of 23.

She bought her home in 2021 and only had to pay an affordable $550 a week in loan repayments – allowing her to cut down to one job.

Now she is shelling out $1,000 because of a series of interest rate hikes passed on by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Ms Walton has been forced to take drastic measures to keep her property, including renting out her spare rooms and earning extra money from side hustles.

‘I would give up anything to be able to continue living in my house. I manage, but sometimes there are points where you feel is it worth it?’ she told Yahoo.

The 26-year-old, who has a university degree, used to juggle two jobs as a vaccine developer and as a technical support worker at an Apple store.

Ms Walton, who is now a mortgage broker at Loan Market Edge, worked 80-hour weeks between both jobs to make her dream of home ownership a reality.

“I trusted the RBA when they said rates wouldn’t start rising until 2024,” Ms Walton said.

The RBA guided for 13 rate hikes between May 2022 and November 2023.

The move prompted Mrs Walton to seek out a mortgage broker to help her manage her finances and secure a loan to buy her property.

She said she had to go through seven mortgage brokers in an attempt to get a loan.

Ms Walton said she was inspired to become a mortgage broker to help others navigate the property market so they didn’t have to endure the same struggles she did.

The career change has come at a cost, as she now earns less income and struggles to save money.

Ms Walton (pictured), who is now a mortgage broker, said she earns and saves less as she saves money to pay off her mortgage

“I just tried to fight the mortgage,” she said.

‘And the thing is, nothing extra will pay off my mortgage. It’s all just the interest, which is probably the most frustrating thing.’

She has rented out extra rooms in her home and works exclusively on a commission basis to increase her earnings.

She has also found side hustles by earning a few hundred dollars participating in surveys and market research to help pay for essential groceries.

Despite the financial constraints, Ms Walton said she wouldn’t have it any other way if it meant keeping a roof over her head.

Financial comparison website Finder found more than one million households across Australia were struggling to pay their mortgage in January.

The figure represents an 11 percent increase in the number of homeowners who had difficulty paying their mortgage in January 2022.