Young Aussies would rather travel than purchase property
A massive amount of young Aussies are put off by eye-watering house prices and choosing to put their money elsewhere.
Young Australian’s are giving home ownership the flick, with over 70 per cent of under 30s revealing they would rather travel then purchase property.
New data from travel insurance provider InsureandGo has revealed that two out of three Millenials and Gen Z are choosing travel over home ownership this year.
This comes after a year of house price growth across Australia’s capital cities, with the national median house price hitting a record high of $762,000, with Sydney’s median jumping as high as $1.065m, according to PropTrack data.
The price hikes increased the strain on already cash-strapped first-home buyers, whose property ownership rate is already at a decade low, InsureandGo said.
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InsureandGo chief commercial officer Jonathan Etkind said for an increasing number of young Aussies, home ownership is becoming a pipe dream – and InsureandGo’s research shows it is significantly shaping spending habits.
“When forced to choose between an eye-watering mortgage and a travel experience, Millennials and Gen Z Australians are opting for the latter, and this is largely in response to the housing crisis,” Mr Etkind said.
“This trend is fuelled by the ‘experience culture’ that erupted over the past decade and saw young Aussies eschew spending money on ‘stuff’ to making memories instead,” he said.
InsureandGo found that 81 per cent of Aussies over 50 are homeowners, compared with 45 per cent of people 18-30-year-olds and 75 per cent of 31-50-year-olds.
The likelihood of owning a home at age 25-30 has decreased for each generation, while also last year travel had driven an increase in spending across Aussie households, InsureandGo revealed.
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The average national mortgage is now $599,000, which equates to monthly repayments of about $4,234, while on the other hand, the average Australian spent $974 on a single holiday over the year leading up to September, InsureandGo said.
“I believe the pandemic also has a role to play with these trends,” Mr Etkind said. “For many of us, being holed up in our homes for extended periods between 2019 and 2021 and being unable to travel sparked some seriously itchy feet,” he said.
“Combine that with skyrocketing property prices, and you’ve got a generation of younger Aussies who have perhaps been taught to rethink the great Australian dream.”
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Originally published as Young Aussies would rather travel than purchase property