The housing debate might be settled, but Boomers can’t let one thing go
A vicious home ownership debate has been settled in Australia but Boomers aren’t going down without a fight.
Australians have agreed that Boomers had it easier when buying their first homes but the younger generations aren’t off the hook entirely when it comes to fancy coffee and pricey avocado allegations.
Earlier this year, news.com.au launched The Great Aussie Debate, a wide-ranging, 50 question survey that has uncovered what Australians really think about all the hot topics of 2025.
Over two weeks, more than 54,000 Australians took part in the survey, revealing their thoughts on everything from the cost of living and homeownership, to electric vehicles and going shoeless in supermarkets.
The survey found that 66 per cent agree that Boomers didn’t do it as tough when they purchased their first home.
Gen Zers and Millennials aged between 18 and 39 overwhelmingly agreed that past house prices were more affordable.
Older generations were more split, with 29.91 per cent claiming young Aussies just aren’t prepared to sacrifice as much.
The idea that young people are choosing lattes and long brunches over homeownership isn’t a majority-held view anymore, but it is still a common belief among older Aussies.
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There’s no arguing that property prices have skyrocketed in Australia. In 1994, the national median house price was $130,000. Now, it is over $850,000.
The average wage in 1994 was just over $27,000, and now it is hovering just under $100,000. But, despite salaries having quadrupled in 30 years, they haven’t kept up with the housing market.
Melbourne renter Chantel Billy, 27, believes she’ll own a home one day, but it won’t look like what Boomers have grown accustomed to, and it certainly won’t be the home of her dreams.
“It will be very different to the home I thought I’d own,” she told news.com.au.
“When you’re younger you envision a four bedroom, two bathroom house with a beautiful backyard. When I do finally own, I think it will be a smaller unit or townhouse, an hour out of the city with a patch of grass.”
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The 27-year-old corporate worker said there’s no doubt in her mind that Gen Zers are facing entering a much tougher property market.
“I do think it was easier for Boomers to enter the property market. Not to say that it was easy and without sacrifice, but it was definitely more achievable than it is now,” she said.
Ms Billy said she’d realistically need to save up $100,000 to buy a home because she believes putting down a lower deposit is “risky” and she doesn’t want to jump into a “lifetime of debt” with limited equity.
She’s also apprehensive about entering the property market because of all the horror stories.
“I’ve heard of people buying and, within a year, realising that they just cannot afford to keep their house – throwing them back into the renting,” she explained.
The Melbourne local said she believes it will take her years to save up that kind of money, and she stressed that the only way she’ll be able to do that is because of her combined income with her partner.
“If I were single, that deposit wouldn’t be possible. I’ve started saving for my deposit — but when your rent is through the roof and you don’t have the option to move back home to live rent-free while you save, it can be hard,” she said.
The young Aussie said that, while she’s definitely seen Boomers sympathise with younger Aussies trying to buy, she’s also encountered the opposite.
“I see a lot of comments that lack a lot of empathy, and don’t fully understand just how difficult it is to get ahead these days,” she said.
“My $10 movie ticket a week is not why I cannot afford a house. I don’t understand why it is such a fight with Boomers, and why they feel the need to constantly belittle younger people for struggling to get into the housing market.”
Influencer Emily Webb, 25, who bought her first home this year, an apartment in Queensland that cost her over $1 million, also doesn’t think Boomers understand how hard the housing market is.
“There’s no denying that Boomers had it much easier when house prices have risen exponentially in comparison to wages,” she said.
The young homeowner claimed that Boomers are “smug” and have ruined the housing market for young people.
“Yes, I think they are smug and took advantage of it by buying multiple investment properties and charging the highest possible rent, making it even harder for young people to save for their own property,” she said.
Ms Webb, who sells X-rated content of herself on an adult subscription platform, said she wouldn’t have “come close” to affording a house just working a regular 9-5 job.
“When I worked in finance and couldn’t make enough money to pay my bills and used credit cards to be able to live on the weeks I fell short, I couldn’t save for a nice meal let alone a house deposit,” she said.
Property expert Julian Fadini explained that Boomers had it easier buying their first properties because the cost of living wasn’t as high.
“As controversial as this is going to be, I am going to say that yes, it was easier for Boomers than it is for the young generation today, but it’s not either party’s fault,” he told news.com.au.
“The real issue is that we had a very different supply and demand ratio in the property market of the 70s and 80s.
“Rather than this being divisive, polarising and pitting two generations of Aussies against each other, it should be that this question starts a productive discussion about how do we get the supply side of housing to where it needs to be.”
The property expert said that we are in the middle of a housing crisis and arguing over who had it harder or easier is missing the point.
“It is the Australian property market and whether you are a Boomer or from the younger generation, we are all Australians,” he said.
“Both generations will suffer some of the negative consequences of failing to address the lack of supply.’
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