THE great Australian dream of home ownership burns brightest among millennials despite more struggling to fly the coop, new research reveals.
Corelogic’s latest Perceptions of Housing Affordability report found the overwhelming majority rate home ownership as important, but 34 per cent say they won’t be able to move out of their parents’ home before their 30th birthday – rocketing up from 20 per cent in 2017.
“The report proves that the ‘cubby house’ syndrome – where children are prolonging their home stay with parents – is intensifying,” CoreLogic International chief executive Lisa Claes said.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOW“Our youngest generation is effectively being locked out of the market and increasingly dependent on parents.”
More millennials are also counting on their family for help with raising a home deposit (25 per cent) and paying off the mortgage (20 per cent).
The survey of 2220 Australians aged 18-69 years found housing affordability has eased slightly on the back of falling house prices however 83 per cent of non-property owners are still worried about being able to afford their first or next home.
Raising a deposit is the biggest barrier to home ownership (47 per cent), with the typical Australian household taking almost nine years to save a 20 per cent deposit as wages growth continues to flatline.
The second biggest hurdle to buying a home is loan approval, which was the sixth largest obstacle two years ago.
“The severe tightening of credit availability following stronger prudential regulation and outcomes related to the Royal Banking Commission is hurting Australians, who are struggling to get a loan,” Corelogic head of research Tim Lawless said.
“Lenders also have a greater focus on evaluating and assessing individual borrower’s expenses.”
Some 79 per cent of respondents think the removal of stamp duty is the best strategy to improve housing affordability.
The typical Australian household spends an average 6.5 times its gross annual income to buy a home priced at $524,000.