I could tell you dozens of stories but I don't want to bore you, but in a nutshell they really have never had it better.
One example, my brother offered his daughter(my neice)in 1999 who was 22 at the time(now 29) and just finishing uni (which he also paid for in full ie no HECS debt) - $100,000 to put down on a house which was selling for around $300,000 and also offered to pay her stamp duty and all associated costs. All she had to do was get a loan for $200,000 over 30 years which she could easily afford because she started a job paying $48,000 per year which isn't bad for a 22 year old fresh out of uni
You know what she said to him?
Is a $100K all you can put towards the house. What if I don't like my job and I want to travel for a while. I won't be able to make those repayments etc etc, its going to affect my lifestyle greatly etc etc blah blah every excuse under the sun. She never bought the house.
My brother could have purchased the house for her, but didn't just to teach her a lesson. Instead he added it to his own portfolio because it was a bargain. Now she has no house, no money, different job that she hates that pays her $35,000 p.a at age 29, and can barely survive week by week.
On the other hand the extra house my brother bought is now worth around $650,000 and he has been getting on average $25,000 rent p.a over the past 7 years.
