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According to Great Southern Bank’s (GSB) No Place Like Home report, which surveyed over 2,000 Australians from 28 May to 9 June across a broad range of demographics, Millennial buyers were most likely to enter the property market with a 16–20 per cent deposit, rather than Baby Boomers, who were most likely to have put down a 5–10 per cent deposit.
Gen Z were in the middle, most likely to put down an 11–15 per cent deposit.
The report’s findings come despite house prices reaching almost record levels. According to data analytics company Cotality, national median house prices dipped 0.7 per cent in the month of July, but are up 5.3 per cent over the year to $928,421.
There have also been steps taken by the federal government to introduce schemes to bring down the deposit threshold for home ownership, such as the 5 per cent Deposit Scheme and the Help to Buy Scheme.
The financial pressures associated with home ownership are also being felt beyond the initial purchase, with four in five Australians saying cost-of-living pressures could delay their retirement. The most common length of delay was three to five years (22 per cent), followed by five to 10 years (21 per cent).
Family support is also helping some younger buyers bridge the deposit gap.
Among Gen Z home owners who received support from their parents, 20 per cent plan to pay it back as soon as they can, while 8 per cent think that they won’t be able to repay it at all.
“For many younger Australians, home ownership remains a goal worth making significant sacrifices for,” Rolf Stromsoe, chief customer officer at Great Southern Bank, said.
“They’re saving larger deposits, planning further ahead and making careful financial decisions, despite facing higher housing costs and ongoing cost-of-living. Their determination is encouraging, and something that our Bank is here to support.”
The changing face of Gen Z borrowing
Maddie Walton, director of Queensland-based brokerage Money Lounge, said the GSB findings reflected what she was seeing among younger clients.
“A deposit of around 10–15 per cent is becoming increasingly common among the younger buyers I work with,” she said.
“For some, putting down a larger deposit can help bring repayments more in line with their lifestyle, improve their borrowing options and give them a greater financial buffer from day one.”
She added that while parental financial assistance had become a big enabler, it wasn’t the only way that family helps.
“I’m also seeing more parents helping their children enter the property market, but that doesn’t always mean handing them a cash deposit,” she said.
“It could be letting them live at home longer so they can accelerate their savings, contributing part of the deposit or acting as a guarantor. Family support is becoming a much more common part of the first home buying journey.”
Around 35 per cent of Gen Z, those aged 18–29, plan to purchase a home within the next five years, according to NAB.
Separate research from GSB also found that the route to home ownership is also changing, with Gen Z respondents 50 per cent more likely than the average Australian to consider rentvesting (21 per cent compared with 14 per cent).
Among Gen Z investors, the main motivations for rentvesting were generating rental income (36 per cent), entering the property market sooner (22 per cent), and viewing property as a comparatively lower-risk investment strategy (17 per cent).
AI and social media increasingly influential
Another defining shift is where younger buyers source their financial information.
According to GSB, around 38 per cent of Gen Z and 34 per cent of Millennials report using AI tools to build financial knowledge and inform decisions compared with just 15 per cent of Gen X and 5 per cent of Baby Boomers.
Regulator ASIC has warned against over-reliance on AI and social media, following findings that highlight the extent to which younger Australians are using these channels for financial guidance.
More than half of Gen Z respondents said they trust financial information from social media (56 per cent) and ‘finfluencers’ (52 per cent), while 64 per cent indicated trust in AI platforms.
Speaking to Broker Daily, brokers have said that they have seen significant shifts in intent and strategy when it came to their Gen Z clients.
[Related: Brokers welcome ‘period of stability’ from RBA rate call]
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