5-year goal: 1-in-3 Gen Zs planning to buy a first home

Gen Z are proving savvy home buyers, with many preparing to purchase their first property before the decade ends. Here’s how Gen Zs are making their home-buying plans happen.

They don’t call it the ‘great Australian dream’ for nothing.  Owning a home remains a leading goal for many Australians and a recent Westpac survey found more than one in three (35%) Gen Zs – that’s chiefly people aged in their 20s – plan to buy their first home in the next five years.

That’s a 5% rise since the start of the year, signalling growing confidence among Gen Z home buyers. What’s driving the jump in home-buying optimism? Let’s take a look. 

Why more Gen Zs are determined to buy a home

First and foremost, almost two in five (37%) say they want to be more independent. Fair enough too – years of living in the family home, or answering to a landlord, can make a place of your own very attractive. 

More than one in three (34%) Gen Zs are keen to buy a home as a way of feeling more financially secure.

About the same proportion (32%) simply want to get off the rental treadmill. Makes sense. Why pay rent when you could be paying off your own home?

What they’re doing to meet their goal

The overwhelming majority of Gen Z buyers – about eight in ten – are boosting their deposit by fine-tuning their lifestyle, making fuss-free changes such as cutting back on food deliveries and other non-essentials to save money. Faced with a shortage of homes listed for sale, Gen Zs are also playing it smart by broadening their search. Four in five (80%) say they’re happy to consider suburbs they hadn’t previously thought of.

Gen Zs are also keeping their options open when it comes to the type of home they’ll buy. 

Plans to buy more affordable apartments have risen 2% this year, while interest in purchasing houses has eased slightly. More than half of Gen Z buyers (55%) are considering rent-vesting, investing in a first property while renting where they prefer to live.

What deposit are Gen Zs aiming for? 

There’s no getting around the fact that today’s high property prices can be a hurdle when it comes to saving the traditional 20% deposit. So Gen Z buyers are leaning towards a different solution: buy with a smaller deposit. 

Over half (53%) of 20-something first home buyers are moving ahead with plans for a deposit of 10% or less. The good news is that this has become a lot easier thanks to the newly expanded Australian government 5% Deposit Scheme. It lets eligible buyers get into the market with as little as a 5% deposit and zero lenders mortgage insurance. 

Let’s develop your first home strategy

Buying your first home doesn’t have to be a pipedream.  With a clear savings strategy, the backing of government support schemes, and a home loan that is a great match for your needs, home ownership can be achievable. 

Contact our Lending Specialists today to start the path forward to buying your first home. You could be in a place of your own sooner than you think!

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