A new study has found a stark housing generational gap, with young Australians now putting off home ownership in favour of staying at home with their parents.
The Finder survey found one in four millennials are cooped up at their parents’ house after the age of 30 compared with 92 per cent of baby boomers who have moved out of home by the same age.
The “boomeragers” are getting into the property market later than their parents as housing affordability reaches new lows.
Despite low interest rates reducing borrowing costs for homebuyers, Finder analysis found millennials are paying 4.9 times more for a home than baby boomers did.
Statistics revealed nearly two-thirds of baby boomers had bought their first home by age 30 compared with 42 per cent of gen X and 34 per cent of millennials.
Finder senior money editor Sarah Megginson told NCA NewsWire that would-be homeowners might be forced to rent the Australian dream.
“Many young people are concerned that unanticipated price growth over the last couple of years has ruined their chances of buying a home,” she said.
“The pandemic had a disproportionate impact on young Aussies, who were more likely to lose work or have their studies disrupted.
“They’re also the least likely to have benefited from rising house prices – resulting in a double whammy blow to their finances.”
The study shows the average West Australian gets into the property market at age 27, while those from NSW don‘t sign onto their first home until age 34.
In 2021, the price of the average Sydney home went up 25 per cent, while wages increased by just more than 2 per cent.
Ms Megginson said the future was not as dire as some might think.
“Now that some of the heat has come out of the property market, and with prices expected to fall slightly in the year ahead, you might actually be in a better position to buy in the near future,” she said.
“If you want to buy sooner than later, there are low-deposit home loans that help you purchase a home with as little as 5 per cent deposit.
“Just make sure you crunch the numbers so you know you can afford your mortgage repayments.”
