News
Australian Property · Generational Wealth · Housing Affordability · Mortgage Stress
Millennials and Gen Z in Australia face significantly harder homeownership challenges compared to Baby Boomers and Gen X, with Millennials three times less likely to own a home than Baby Boomers at the same age, as price-to-income ratios have soared from 3-4x to 23x in Sydney.
Older generations often attribute this to younger generations' spending habits, while younger generations cite inflated property prices and stagnant wages. Baby Boomers contended with sky-high interest rates of 17% in 1989 but borrowed significantly less relative to income.
Conversely, Millennials and Gen Z, despite historically low initial interest rates, took on much larger loans, leading to substantial mortgage stress as rates rose above 6% since 2022. Government assistance programs like the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) and Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) have helped some, but also induce demand, further pushing up prices.
The reintroduction of university fees and slower wage growth since the Global Financial Crisis, coupled with rising living expenses, exacerbate the financial burden on younger buyers, making saving for a deposit the biggest obstacle.
