As a young person I am just overwhelmed when I look at the price of properties and even the cost of rent.
I just can't understand how families with young children make it work, even on two incomes
Does anyone think that housing affordability is something the government should be addressing? And what type of policies would help?
I am a Young (both gen Y) family (3 kids plus one on the way) on a single income (albeit a reasonably good single income).
It can be hard. It takes perserverance, dedication, savings, budgeting and clearly defined set of goals to work towards, as well as maybe adjusting your own expectations of what you are aiming towards and where.
None of this is new. People have always had to sacrifice a little to get ahead in the property market. The difference nowdays is people don't 'want' to sacrifice anything else. They want to keep up with the jones, with their lifestyle (ie, credit cards debt, eating out, clothing, holidays, cars, etc) and they still expect to have a house on TOP of that.
Housing isn't unaffordable. People are just too demanding, too far in 'other' debt and less willing to work towards what they want. They want someone else to just hand it too them on a silver platter. There is a sense of entitlement. And people just look at the BIG goal (the reallly nice big house in the goods suburb) without wanting to work their way up to that. The fact is they they CANN"T afford that. Not straight up. They need to work towards what they can afford, or figure out a way to be able to afford the bigger goal.
It isn't about income. It is rarely about income. It is about how smart you are with the money you have.
I have seen people (am related to some of them) on crappy incomes, increase those incomes significantly (as much as three and four times their original incomes). They still couldn't 'afford' a house. Not because of their income. But because they were stupid (for lack of a better word). Their debt increased with their incomes, their spending increased with their incomes, their extra-ciricular activity increased with their incomes - and they result was they were still broke. They are still living paycheck to paycheck. They are still complaining how 'unaffordable' housing is.
I have no sympathy for people who suffer because of their own stupidity. Those who genuinely want to get ahead, who genuinely want solutions, will find them. Those who want things handed to them on a silver platter....
Tough luck. The world doesn't work like that.
You reap what you sow.