I&#039;m 18yo and I can&#039;t afford to buy a house. Boo hoo

Originally posted by acorn: ↑

This isn't a new problem so I half agree with you.

However, I would say the problem is getting worse now.

There are some people that will get ahead no matter the obstacles. But, the majority won't.

Sometimes I think the greatest gift a parent can offer is advice. Advice that comes from knowledge, observation and education.

We need to create opportunities and empower the young rather than just handing them a bit of money.

Don't get me wrong. It's great if one is in a position to help their kids get started. But, it shouldn't be the standard model for society.

While the baby boomers, who no doubt sacrificed things back in the day to get started and are now sitting back feeling very pleased that their house is worth a few mill, they are not seeing the greater issues.

If you want services in your area, you need to have affordable housing for the people that work in services. Most service jobs aren't particularly well paid. So, you end up with service people traveling long distances. Either that or, you just can't get service.

You might have a nice house in a nice area but if you can't get local services, who wants to live there ?

Service people having to travel adds to traffic congestion. That adds cost to everyone's lives and lowers living standards. Time, pollution, less efficient work day, less personal time with the family etc.

Traffic in Australian cities is off it's head. As it is everywhere in the world. Expensive real estate causes people to travel further creating a catch 22 situation.

I reckon we need to rethink how we design cities completely. Increased population density and greater decentralization would be a great start.

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Acorn in the hope that you do not just keep on providing contradictory commentary - where I live not more than 1.5 hours from a major city there are plenty of jobs, good paying jobs and affordable housing.

So why is this so!?

Large cities are attractants for the young with more people coming into the city from regional areas looking for things other than work. I understand and accept some regional areas are experiencing a boom but that's for other reasons so let's set that aside for now

I therefore find it an interesting paradox that the whole socialist movement wants equity for all and the young want cheap affordable housing but the young also want freedom of choice. So taking this to the extreme socialist logical conclusion everyone gets given affordable accommodation but the young person, finally achieving their affordable accommodation, is told to pack their bags because their accommodation is in Bourke worst still North Bourke and moreover, they will need to report to the local council for street cleaning duties. I can hear the 18 year old screaming now "THAT"S NOT FAIR". Yeah but you got your affordable housing and ye shall not want for anything again and you will be happy.

As an aside even if housing prices halved tomorrow there would be people unable to afford to purchase a house.

And before you get all indignant and go nuclear I understand there are people who have a genuine need for assistance in their lives but for the majority we all have the freedom of choice to work as little or as hard as we want to and those who work the hardest for the longest will reap the rewards.

Having said all that there are plenty of new developments going up around where I live and I can only assume that some people are able to afford to pay the mortgage and get on with life.

A serious question do you really know how big the problem is, give me a percentage, and be realistic and hopefully intellectually honest. Oh BTW while you are at it tell be about the affect that large funds like Blackrock buying up nearly whole estates are having on the housing affordability.

Cheers
BW