My problem is with people who claim (either explicitly or otherwise) that housing is affordable as it always was, and that young people these days are just 'whiners' or some other nonsense.
I don't dispute that housing is more expensive today than when my parents bought their first home, however I do also think that Gen Y / younger people / whatever you want to call them also expect and want too much too fast. For example, "in my day" when I first got my license (and I'm only talking 12 years ago, not 30 or 40) it was standard that most people had a part time job and bought a 15-20 year old car for a few thousand or even a few hundred (mine was $300) which most had saved up for and had this for a few years. I didn't get my first brand new car until just recently, which I saved up cash for
after buying my home. It's a Mazda 2, and the number of P plates I see on brand new Mazda 2 cars and similar makes me feel like I'm driving a teenage car.
I wonder how many of them have taken out loans for their first car, their first major set back to getting their first home.
Then when it comes to their first home, rather than an older run down home a few suburbs out, that they could put a little bit of work into, they screw their nose up at. A house now has to have a new kitchen, new bathroom, new appliances etc. otherwise it's just "unliveable". When I was selling my Lilydale property not that long ago, the number of comments about how dated and bad the kitchen was, they simply could not live there. This was an older unit which I had done basic renovations to (painted, re-carpeted, re-tiled and other minor things) so it was very well presented and the kitchen was fully functional and tidy looking (and it was priced to take into account it's age), but still wasn't good enough despite it being a complete entry point property, and somehow I managed to live there for 8 years!
I don't think people should fully blame Gen Y, I think their parents have a lot to do with their thinking. I had this discussion with a friend just recently in fact. We were talking about this exact thing, mortgage stress that families are facing etc. and I mentioned about how I think people expect too much too soon. They want everything new and all the latest gadets etc. and this friend who is Gen X said her kids get everything they want, and so she's probably feeding this expectation.
This is of course very generalised, there are many sensible Gen Y's who are doing well and there are many of them on this forum. And before a Gen Y such as Steve101 attacks me for my comments, I should declare that I'm borderline Gen Y myself.
The point is, don't complain about property being too expensive, you can't change it. Accept it and sacrifice to make it happen. If that means living somewhere like Lilydale, so be it.
