WA Millennials, Gen Zs still optimistic about homeownership

Young Western Australians continue to cling to their homeownership goals despite the significant pressures from economic headwinds.

A recent study by Bankwest found encouraging trends among these young Western Australians, with 73% of Gen Zs and 57% of Millennials seeing homeownership as an important goal.

Meanwhile, 50% of Gen Zs and 46% of Millennials in Western Australia believes homeownership is still achievable despite economic headwinds, which include rising interest rates, increasing inflation, cost-of-living pressures, and tight competition for homes.

However, Millennials felt the most pressure from these factors — last year, 71% of Millennials think homeownership is achievable.

Despite the overall optimism among these young Western Australians, they recognise some of the pressing issues concerning the housing market today.

In fact, a third of Gen Zs and almost half of Millennials made significant changes in their homeownership plans due to the upswing in interest rates and the supply scarcity in the property markets.

One in five Gen Zs and one in 10 Millennials postponed their plans to buy a home while 16% and 23%, respectively, delayed any major household spending.

Bankwest general manager for homebuying Peter Bouhlas said the current combination of housing and rental pressures, ongoing supply chain challenges, and inflation is posing some challenges for most Australians.

“Western Australia’s current and next generation of homebuyers are on the frontline of these impacts, with many having never experienced a rising rate market in their homeownership journey,” he said.

“It is promising to see that, despite these pressures and economic headwinds, young Western Australians have not given up on the dream of owning their own home, and it’s important they are supported in navigating that goal.”

Economic pressures also impact spending

Economic pressures are also impacting the overall spending not just of Millennials and Gen Zs, but all households across Western Australia.

Another recent study by Bankwest showed that Western Australians, in July, have reined in spending in many segments, including clothing stores, department stores, electrical appliance retailers, hardware stores, and interior furnishings.

Bankwest chief customer officer Paul Vivian said households are pulling back most on household spending due to the impacts of inflation.

“It was interesting to see last month’s data, which suggested the community was mostly resisting pulling back on discretionary spending, but Western Australians are now clearly reversing that, with declines across the board,” he said.

“We believe challenging economic conditions may be here to stay for a while, so we encourage all customers to ensure they are in the best possible financial position.”

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