First-time homebuyers in Australia are getting older – and younger – all at once.
The average age of a first-time homeowner Down Under now sits around 36, up from 30 in the early Aughts, with some reports showing buyers were in their late 20s back in the 1990s. But alongside this older cohort is a surprising wave of younger buyers: twenty-somethings who’ve lived at home, saved aggressively and are jumping onto the property ladder early.
"All these young ones now, like in their early 20s, they've got their stuff together. It's quite interesting that they're turning up with $100,000 they've been saving for a couple of years," Janine Ashmore, cofounder and director at Darwin-based Bliss Home Loans, told Australian Broker. "They've got all this money they've saved because they've been living at home."
Ashmore said the trend has emerged over the past two to three years, following the pandemic.
"People are more aware of their finances. I think that's the thing," she said. "And they've just started saving earlier. They couldn't go out shopping and spending as much as they did [during the pandemic]. And I think they've just learned to save as well. Or their parents didn't do quite so well, so they don't want to be in that position, so they've started earlier."
But the mortgage broker was quick to point out that the age at which one jumps on the property ladder is largely driven by location.
"We've still got cheap units you can get for $300,000 in the Northern Territory," Ashmore said. "So they can sort of get a deposit together when they're finishing uni or whatever, and while staying at home and saving a heap of money. Then they go out and buy a small, cheaper first property. If you're talking about couples, they're probably more into the late 20s here in the Northern Territory. But if you were in Sydney or Melbourne, it would absolutely take longer. Because it just takes them so much longer to get the money together, because everything's so much more expensive."
Contributing to the rise in slightly older shoppers are increasing living costs, skyrocketing property prices, a chronic housing shortage and mounting student debt, all of which are making it harder than ever to save for a deposit and pushing the dream of homeownership further into the future for many Australians.
Complicating matters are stricter lending criteria and limited housing supply in desirable areas. As a result, more buyers are entering the market in their mid-30s or later, a noticeable shift from previous generations.
"The average age is getting a little bit older, and that just comes down to higher cost of housing and because it takes longer to save for a deposit, so it's kind of just slowly stretching out the age at which people are first getting in," said Harry Ottley, an economist at Commonwealth Bank (CBA).
Aside from just finding a property – and then figuring out how to pay for it – both groups of homeowners have their own set of challenges.
While both groups have limited to no equity from previous properties, younger shoppers have limited credit histories and likely less earnings. In addition, many rely on parents or other family members for financial support.
Meanwhile, older shoppers might have a hard time convincing a bank to give them a loan.
"It might be harder if they don't have a good exit strategy," Ashmore said. "If they haven't built up adequate super that might get them out of the debt by the time they're ready to retire. Or if they don't have a good, reasonable downsizing option. Then yes, there's challenges for them to get the loan term that they want. But coming up with exit strategies isn't hard. I'm not getting many shorter loan terms approved or anything. They're all still getting 30-year [mortgages] by the bank."
Ottley added that potential interest rate cuts could offer a short-term solution to the problem.
"But in the long run, unless there's a big turnaround in affordability, the average age will probably just keep drifting older," the economist said.
For brokers, the rising age of first-time buyers marks a clear shift in client priorities and financial complexity. These buyers are often balancing higher living costs, student debt, kids, tax obligations and even small businesses, all while trying to enter a challenging market. They may be older, but they still need expert guidance navigating changing lending conditions and government schemes. Brokers should be ready to deliver tailored solutions, break down deposit assistance options and spotlight creative paths to ownership.
