ferris, margin lending can do the same for your in shares, but is also associated with increased risk of course.
I looked at it a year ago but steered well clear of it once I dug into the potential pitfalls.. like a huge bet, really. If you don't know what you're doing, you might as well put it on the horses..
Same really with betting seven years' salary on continually rising property prices.. unless you have a really really good case for negative gearing (assumes you'll be paying taxes in Oz for years to come, which is not a given in aviation), you might want to stay flexible and independent..
..in most cases the mortgage is close to double the price of renting an equivalent property.
Says it all, really.. mate, rent a place, stay flexible for the next position on the other side of the country or the other side of the world, and invest the half you've saved wisely. For a young person, generally recommended is a third in bond/cash/term deposits, with the rest in mutual funds of whatever risk you find acceptable, with different institutions around the world, in at least two different currencies.