Are too many takeaway coffees and Netflix stopping you getting into the property market?

Clearly, it’s harder for young Australians to save their deposit to get into the property market.

And it’s nothing new this to be blamed on their unnecessary spending.

I remember a couple of years ago leading demographer Bernard Salt wrote a column linking the inability of many young Aussies to enter the housing market with their love of eating expensive smashed avocado breakfasts in trendy inner-city cafes.

“I have seen young people order smashed avocado with crumbled feta on five-grain toasted bread at $22 a pop and more.

I can afford to eat this for lunch because I am middle-aged and have raised my family.

But how can young people afford to eat like this? Shouldn’t they be economising by eating at home?

How often are they eating out? Twenty-two dollars several times a week could go towards a deposit on a house.”

Now, this may not be true but where can a prospective purchaser save a few dollars?

What about takeaway coffee?

Analysis by Finder.com.au analysis shows that prospective homebuyers in Sydney would need to give up 52,191 takeaway coffees to save enough for the average deposit.

That’s equivalent to a coffee a day for 143 years – nearly twice the average lifespan.

How much would you need to give up to afford a home deposit?

Here’s a breakdown of exactly how long you would have to go without your favourite things to save for a home deposit in each capital city.

And now rising rents are adding an extra burden.

We all know the cost of living is going up, making it difficult to save that elusive deposit, but now many prospective first home buyers are being hit a double whammy of the rising cost of living and rising rents making it harder to save.

And with the shortage of rental properties and historically low vacancy rates, rents are only going to keep rising.

About Steffi Sendecki
Steffi Sendecki is a Property Strategist at Metropole with a background in Wealth Management assisting high-net-worth individuals and families achieve their financial and lifestyle goals through the provision of strategic investment advice.