‘Life savings’: Proof Aussie dream is shrinking

The Aussie dream of owning a home is getting hard and harder and one 22yo has revealed the “life savings” reality she’s had to face.

The Australian dream of owning a home is shrinking; quite literally, Lara Connor and her partner Michael have just purchased a tiny home.

The miniature home will cost them $50,000 to build and will only be 9 metres by 3.4 metres in size. To put that in perspective, the average home size in Australia is 232-252 square metres.

The couple lives in Picton, in Sydney’s south west, which means they don’t pay inner city prices, but the average home price is still more than $800,000.

The pair both work full-time: Ms Connor, 22, is a hairdresser, while her partner works in the mines for an engineering company.

However, gainful employment isn’t enough now for young people to get onto the property ladder. Even for their $50,000 home, they are getting a loan from the bank, which they’ll pay off over time.

Lara works full-time as a hairdresser. Picture: TikTok/LaraConnor

The pair are engaged. Picture: TikTok/LaraConnor

The plan is for the home to be built on Ms Connor’s grandparents’ land, allowing them to stop renting and start saving.

“In the future we will sell it and use the money for a house deposit. We are lucky my grandparents are letting us live on their farm to save money to get ahead as we were renting before,” Ms Connor told news.com.au.

Construction on their tiny home hasn’t started yet, but it took Ms Connor ages to find the right people for the job

“We researched for months and months and finally found a country guy who builds them himself for an affordable price,” she said.

Moving into a tiny space might seem drastic although Ms Connor reckons it’ll be “big enough for the two” of them.

It also isn’t that wild when you consider that trying to buy a home right now for young people is really hard, and being creative in your approach is likely the most savvy thing a young couple can do.

They'll be living on a farm. Picture: Instagram/LaraConnor

Young people are buying homes later and later … Picture: Instagram/LaraConnor

According to financial comparison website Finder, one in three Gen Zers who don’t own a home don’t think they’ll ever be able to afford one.

The research also found that those getting into the property market are getting in much later than their parents, with 62 per cent of Baby Boomers having bought their first home by age 30, compared to 42 per cent of Gen Xers, and 34 per cent of Millennials.

The research found the average Aussie in NSW doesn’t buy their first home until age 34. 

Her and her partner are building a tiny home. Picture: TikTok/LaraConnor

They plan to sell their tiny home eventually and buy a bigger place. Picture: TikTok/LaraConnor

Getting into the property young is becoming tougher and it doesn’t come without sacrifice. with Ms Connor and her partner revealing they have decided to forego a wedding.

Despite the couple being engaged, they decided to call the whole thing off, and she’s feeling “amazing” about her decision.

“We have no regrets. We were having no help paying for anything, so our whole life savings were about to all go to this wedding, which just didn’t sit right with us,” Ms Connor said.

Cancelling the wedding might pay off in the long term, but for the short term, they’ve had to take a financial blow.

“We ended up losing a fair amount of money on deposits but we don’t feel bad about it,” she said.

“Everything is so expensive now, and I think a lot of my friends feel the same about wasting money when we all just need somewhere to live and call home.”

“I’m glad my partner and I have each other and that’s all that matters,” Ms Connor said.