So is this becoming the new normal?
Australian dream of home ownership may soon be '
out of reach' for those on normal salaries
unless you've inherited enough
and we just have to accept it??
_______________________
Young Australians have unrealistic expectations about being able to buy a home close to the city, says Justice Party Senate crossbencher Derryn Hinch.
Key points:
- Derryn Hinch says young Australians can't expect to have a 'two-car garage house'
- Says renting is common around the world and Australians just have to get used to the fact
- Housing affordability is the big issue ahead of next month's budget
Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly has been pushing a proposal to allow
young people's superannuation contributions to be placed in a special account for three years, in order to help them save for a home deposit.
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The proposal comes at a time when
housing affordability has become a hot topic, with the
housing market in Sydney and Melbourne becoming more and more
inaccessible to first home buyers.
But Mr Hinch told AM that when it came to home ownership, millennials had an unrealistic outlook.
"The problem here is that people — I get it's unpopular to say this — but owning your own home is not an Australian right. It's a dream and everybody wants to do it," he said.
"I think [my parents] were in their 40s before they could afford to buy their first home.
"It's not something you're meant to get — the two-car garage [house] when you're 22.
"I think... that this generation and the one before think that's the way it has to be — well I'm afraid it's not that way."
Mr Hinch said a lifetime of renting was common in many big cities around the world, where often people were unable to afford to buy property.
"That's why in New York, when you watch programs like Seinfeld, there was such a rush to get hold of rent-controlled apartments," he said.
"Because that's the way people lived their lives. They didn't expect to own a house."
Proposal 'will push up housing prices'
Mr Hinch said he disagreed with the proposal to allow young people access to their super in order to help them enter the property market.
Super isn't the solution you're after
It's simple economics: if you increase demand without increasing supply, prices go up.
"There's absolutely no merit in this concept — none at all. Superannuation is there for when you retire," he said.
"Paul Keating was right when he brought it in at 3 per cent, hoped it would get to 15 per cent and it stalled of course.
"At the time he brought it in, back in the 80s… the Opposition then, the Liberal Party, opposed it. They thought it was the wrong idea.
"Keating still believes he was on the right track and I support him 100 per cent on this."
The ABC understands Treasurer Scott Morrison has been considering Mr Kelly's proposal.
But Mr Hinch said he thought the move would simply drive up housing prices, as well as delay retirement for many.
"The biggest problem here is that we may not have enough money to pay for people's retirement and pensions when they get there, if they're 30 years of age now," he said.
"They're talking about pushing the age back more and more. I think it's crazy."
Mr Hinch said he did not believe the proposal would be well met.
"Superannuation is designed to make sure you've got some money when you retire," he said.
"And hopefully you have enough money to keep you off the pension — [then] the pension goes to people who don't have that much money and need a pension," he said.
