Australia’s Gen Z are the generation most willing to cut their spending way back to afford a home, according to Cotality data reported by AAP.
The figures show more than 75% of all Australians were curbing their outgoings in pursuit of property, meaning we are more likely to do so than our Canadian, US and UK peers (for whom the figures sat below 70%).
Levels of discretionary spending, like eating out, owning a car, and even moving from the family home into a sharehouse, have dropped among young adults in recent years.
But it wasn’t just first-time buyers making significant financial sacrifices to climb the ladder. Millennials – the largest buyer cohort in the world – are readily forgoing small luxuries to afford homes large enough for their families.
Prospective buyers were selling their second car or putting off holidays while their children were young, Capital Buyers Agency owner Claire Corby said.
double quotation markFor many, it’s around delaying things like going away, or reducing things like dinners out. People are leaving where they want to live and buying in cheaper markets.
Most Australians would not be persuaded to participate in the housing market until mortgage interest rates hit a 4.9% average, the data revealed.
The average rate for an owner-occupier in August 2026 was 6.3%, meaning the market is likely to stay quiet for some time and allowing bold buyers to swoop in.
double quotation markPeople are being conservative and cautious.
