When is it my turn to own a home?

Buying second and third houses are now easier than the first

Average age of first-time home owners is increasing. The elderly has an advantage of owning property through superannuation as investment at lower interest rates.

Young people are struggling to buy their first home

In the Census data of 2021, millennials are less likely to own a home, compared to the older generations in the same age group. More than half of the Baby Boomer owns a home as early as 25 to 29 years old. The rate is only 36% for the youngest Millennials, born from 1992 - 1996.

Home ownership rates across generations. Source: AIHW

The median age of first-time home buyers is increasing. In 2024, the age is 36 while in 1970s, it was just 25.7. It takes the Gen X 15 years at the age of 49 to achieve the same rate as the Baby Boomers at 34, and the disparity continue for the Millennials since only 59% of them own a house at peak.

Are the elderly taking away future generation's opportunity?

Owning a property through retirement funds (Self-managed Super Fund) has certain advantages:
• Once it produce rental income, it is taxed at 15%
• If the property is sold after 12 months, 10% capital gain tax is applied
• Sold within 12 months and under transfer balance cap of A$1.9m, no capital gain tax applied
Unlike the US where it is costly to buy real estate through the IRA, owning a property through superannuation in Australia only has a effective tax rate of 10%. And it is quite easy to do so that it is often encouraged. To some extent, this SMSF scheme is mostly beneficial for the elderly whose superannuation funds are stacked up, making owning second or third property easier.