Australia has been ranked one of the world’s worst countries for young home buyers.
Amazing, considerable the quarter acre block was supposed to be the Aussie dream.
HSBC released a new report last Thursday that showed that only around 28 per cent of Australian millennials had bought a home – compared to a global average of around 40 per cent.
Around 9,000 millennials were surveyed across nine countries, with youths in China at the top – around 70 per cent of those surveyed own a home.
Australia ranked second last compared to the United Arab Emirates, with millennials in Mexico even beating out Aussies in purchasing their first homes.
The report also said that in eight of the nine countries surveyed, property prices rose in 2016 and almost all young home buyers said it was difficult to save for a deposit.
So what happened to the Aussie dream?
Sixty-one per cent of Australian millennials said they would need a higher salary before they could save or buy, said Alice Del Vecchio, head of mortgages at HSBC Australia.
“It is not uncommon to look for more than six months to find the right home, and often prices to enter the market have moved,” she told Domain.com.au.
“The deposit for a home loan is the biggest initial cost of owning a home, but buyers also need to factor in the costs of stamp duty, legal fees, mortgage insurance, building inspection fees and in some cases renovation costs.”
The figures show that around one third of Australian millennials who did own their own home had help from their parents, and 25 per cent had moved back home to afford to save.
But despite the rising cost of houses and other difficulties facing young Aussies, 83 per cent of them still have the intention of getting on the property ladder in the next five years.
“Despite the rising costs, millennials overwhelming want to own a home in Australia,” said Ms Del Vecchio.
“The dream certainly isn’t dead. This research demonstrates that a lack of preparation and understanding of the realities of owning real estate however can stall or even deflate those dreams.”