GenZ Buyers Step Up

Gen Z are fast becoming the engine room of Australia’s next demand wave, despite the brutal entry costs.

New Westpac research shows more than one in three young Australians plan to buy their first home within five years, up five percentage points since January.

Independence and financial security are the main drivers, with rising rents pushing many to conclude they may as well service their own mortgage.

To make it work, younger buyers are being far more flexible than previous cohorts.

Around 80 per cent are willing to buy in suburbs they hadn’t previously considered, and there’s a clear shift from detached houses towards apartments to secure better locations.

More than half are open to rentvesting and a large share are targeting deposits of 10 per cent or less, often with support from parents.

At the same time, many are making sharp lifestyle cuts to save: moving back home, cutting discretionary spending and redirecting cash into deposits.

For the market, this cohort is quietly rebuilding first home buyer demand underneath the broader cycle.