Australia’s housing market: Three things you need to know

It’s no secret Australia’s property market is a hot mess – whether you’re renting, buying or trying to pay off a mortgage whilst the cost of living continues to skyrocket. 

In the latest episode of The Pay Off with Sylvia Jeffreys, Alice Stolz, Domain’s National Property Editor, joins Sylvia to discuss how long it will take to save a deposit, where to invest and why we need to rethink the way we buy property. 

Having finally secured a rental in Sydney after a three-month search (yes, you read that right, three months), and now being in the incredibly fortunate position of buying my first investment property, I was looking forward to this interview for a number of reasons. 

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Firstly, Alice reveals recent data suggests it will take a couple six years to save a deposit for the median house price in Australia right now. If you’re single, you can double that – yep, twelve years. 

For so many, not having the option of ‘The Bank of Mum and Dad’ means the timeline for owning your own home continues to stretch and year on year feel more unattainable. 

It’s why so many Australians are rethinking the way they get into the market, with alternatives like rentvesting and co-buying with family and friends growing in popularity. So what does Alice Stolz think of these approaches? 

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“I love it because part of the issue of buying a property with someone else, like a boyfriend or a girlfriend… Not all relationships work out”, Alice explains. 

“Sometimes, a friendship or a sibling can sometimes be a more reliable opportunity and investment than a wrong boyfriend at that time of your life”.

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“Having said that, there’s some big red flags that people need to be aware of… Most of all, there’s a good chance you may not continue on a parallel path at the same time.” 

“All of a sudden, your sister gets married and wants to free up her share to go live in Rome and you’re left thinking I’m not ready to sell and I can’t afford to buy you out”. 

To listen to Episode 12 of The Pay Off with Sylvia Jeffreys, press play below or tap here

Another point Alice brought to the table was the idea of changing the way we view property ownership. There’s always been talk around ‘the Great Aussie Dream’ of buying a house on a quarter acre block with a white picket fence… Oh, how times have changed. 

As Alice puts it, “Rentvesting is a great idea, but you’re going to have to let go of the idea of feeling emotionally attached to a house”.

“We should be considerate to, particularly Millennials and Gen Z people, because it is a hard idea to give up that you might not walk home from hospital with your first baby one day into the house you bought with your partner”.

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Alice continues, “It might be that you own a little brick unit in a suburb in QLD that you’ve never been to”. 

Finally, a slightly more controversial point of discussion came about after Sylvia asked Alice if she thinks one generation is taking more than their fair share of property? 

With house prices in Sydney now sitting an average of $1.7 million dollars, plenty of Gen Z and Millennials can’t even begin to fathom the idea of affording a home. 

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Does Alice think Baby Boomers are taking up too much from the property market? What do you think?

The Pay Off with Sylvia Jeffreys is out now and a new episode publishes for free every Thursday. Search “The Pay Off” in your podcast app or tap here.

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