Property Council poll finds Aussie dream of home ownership is dead

The Australian dream of owning your own home is dead according to new research conducted for The Property Council

The Australian dream of owning your own home is dead according to new research which found 70 per cent of voters believe young people will never be able to break into the market.

And the polling for the Property Council found that for people struggling to buy their first home, housing affordability would be the biggest factor in deciding their vote in the forthcoming federal election.

“Our research shows four out of every five aspiring homeowners actually believe the dream of home ownership is unachievable, which you’d have to say is incredibly disheartening.” Property Council chief executive Ken Morrison said.

“It’s no wonder more than three quarters of 18–34-year old‘s say it’s one of the most important issues that will determine their vote in May.”

New research has found that the Australian dream of owning your own home is dead.

The Essential Media poll of 1100 people found women were more concerned than men about housing affordability.

“Older voters are also very concerned. Our data shows 82 per cent of over 55-year old‘s say while they believe home ownership is crucial to financial security, 70 per cent of them also believe that dream is fading for future generations,” Mr Morrison said.

Westmead Private Hospital anaesthetic nurse Hemanta Acharya, 29, from Colbee in Western Sydney has been trying to buy her first home for more than two years.

“It is very difficult. I feel as though I am one step lower than the market every time,” she said. “Just when I think I am in a position to buy I see the market going crazy.”

Ms Acharya said at one point she “actually just gave up” in despair at ever being able to buy her own home.

Hemanta Acharya, from Colebee, said she had spent two years trying to buy her own home. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“When I came back and started looking again, a house I had seen on the market two years before was on sale again but it had increased in price by 25 per cent,” she said.

The Property Council has launched an election campaign and video to push political candidates to take a stand on housing affordability.

It comes on the back of The Daily Telegraph’s Future Western Sydney campaign which revealed failures of governance at all levels had led to a shortfall of 100,000 new homes.

New housing supply in Western Sydney is woefully inadequate with Department of Planning projections showing that most councils there will fail to meet the home building targets they agreed with the Greater Sydney Commission by as much as 46 per cent.