One of the main reasons I help people get work is to achieve their dreams.
But if you’re young and thinking about buying property, that’s a very big ask.
People don’t talk about class in Australia but you can’t get a better example than the property market.
According to the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, those with support from the ‘bank of mum and dad’ are twice as likely to enter the property market than those with no support.
Family assistance ranges from buying the property outright for a kid, stumping up the deposit or non-financial support like childcare, which allows a parent to return to work sooner after having a child, or to work more hours.
University of Newcastle sociologist Julia Cook says that in less than a decade, the number of first-home buyers with family assistance has increased fivefold.
“We know that in 2010 around about 12 per cent of people [who were] first home buyers were getting assistance from mum and dad. It got up to about 60 per cent from 2017 onwards, so it’s grown enormously.”
Low wage growth over the last two decades is also playing a role. In 2010, annual wage growth was at 3 per cent, but in 2023 it had only increased to 3.6 per cent.
The rise of unstable incomes for young people, such as fixed-term contracts and casual work, is also contributing to their need for family help to buy a home.
The assets the parents have now indicates the class positions of their children and their children’s children. So your chances of becoming a home owner are dependent on the family you’re born into.
Turn clocks back to the 19th-century.