I agree that there is a huge variance between the cost of living and rent that young people are paying today, compared to our parents generation. Of the under 30s I work with, the majority are postponing buying a house, simply because they cannot afford it on their relatively good wages. Simply accumulating a house deposit for most is unrealistic, given the high cost of rent and living in general. I purchased my first house at 20, about 25 years ago, but that possible with two wages. I still encourage young people to buy an affordable house as early as possible. Mind you we worked two jobs to make ends meet and we experienced some very lean years, but it has been worth it with an increase of more than 250% on our current property over the last 9 years.The good news for first home buyers, if the market continues to decline is that houses, particularly in the outer suburbs will reduce in value, allowing them to potentially buy in.
