Exorbitant housing costs have forced two mates to pool their savings together just for the chance to buy a property.
Oliver Pratt, 24, and 22-year-old Chris Bryant’s weekly search for a home lead them to a three-bedroom unit in Toowong, Brisbane, last weekend.
Despite being priced at about $1million, the pair were among 80 people also inspecting the renovated apartment.
They said they would never be able to afford a deposit individually, and needed to join forces to put down competitive offers.
Mr Pratt told the ABC the skyrocketing housing market meant they would have to apply for a home loan in a ‘shared situation’.
Their battled to by a home comes as Brisbane has soared past Canberra to become the second most expensive housing market among Australia’s major cities.
The average cost of a dwelling in Brisbane has increased by about 15.8 per cent in the past year to just above $843,000, according to data from CoreLogic.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said lower levels of housing supply in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth has sent prices skyrocketing.
‘Inventory levels in these markets remain well below average despite vendor activity lifting relative to this time last year,’ Mr Lawless said in a statement.
‘Fresh listings are being absorbed rapidly by market demand, keeping stock levels low and upwards pressure on prices.’
He noted that an increase in supply in Hobart had sent the average price of a dwelling down 0.5 per cent in the past month, to $655,000.
It comes after real estate guru and auctioneer Tom Panos said young Aussies have ‘no chance’ at buying a home unless they’re being bankrolled by their parents.
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‘When I go to an auction and I see a person that’s under 30, unless I see a mum and dad near them, I’m thinking to myself “they have no chance”,’ he told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
‘And it is very sad to see that some of the people buying real estate now under 30 are people that are on OnlyFans.
‘It has reached the stage where, if you are an 18-year-old, getting a deposit on a unit will take 20 years — for a house, it is 40 years.’
Mr Panos added that the average age of Aussies taking out a home loan is now 32, up from 23 in 2009.
‘Back in my era, I remember the dream was you get to 60-65, and you’d have your house paid off. That was the dream for the average Australian,’ Mr Panos said.
‘These days, the dream is, “I’ll have to get to that age to actually put a deposit down”, so you can see why people are so disheartened and giving up.’
Parents assisting their children with deposits were also affecting their own retirement savings, Mr Panos said.
‘I’m looking at people who are, let’s say, 60-65. If they’re going to live until 80-90, handing out lump sum deposits of $100,000 to $200,000 changes the trajectory of retirement for most individuals.’
Mr Panos said rising house prices were forcing essential workers out of Australia’s big cities.
‘I know teachers and nurses who cannot rent or buy a home,’ he said.
‘There is no turning back when a society says that we can’t help a teacher more or a nurse, there is no turning back for society.
‘It’s against the fabric of Australian society.’
He said the major driver of surging house prices was rising immigration.
‘Immigration is very good, immigration helps a country progress, it’s good for security,’ Mr Panos said.
‘However, I think [Australia should be] pressing the pause button and saying, “Hey, if we’ve only got 1,000 houses, why are we letting 1,500 people in”.
‘So I think the simple solution is a pause or a reduction till we sought out that housing issue, or we make progress towards it.’
Over the five years, 1.38million migrants on a net basis are still expected to move to Australia, according to treasury documents.