Let\u2019s face it, the Millennials have the coolest name of ALL the generations. But, if you\u2019re to believe the popular consensus, they and their slightly older cousins Gen Y are really up against it in the battle to buy that most basic of human requirements \u2013 a home. Well, you know\u2026 after food and water, and possibly very fast internet.
\nJust like their age, their wages can be kind of low. Often too low to buy the homes of their dreams in the most fashionable city suburbs. Having a whinge about this situation has become a national sport for some, who hope for maximum political impact by spreading the popular (but misguided) notion that negative gearing should be axed by the Federal Government, supposedly to make property prices lower for all.
\nThat\u2019s been a debate for decades, but the years are whizzing by and it\u2019s now 2017. Everything is changing, just as it kind of stays the same \u2013 because the big news is that Gen Y has grown up and is now jumping into investing, not only with both feet but with gusto, and great success.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re seeing many, many more Gen Y investors enter the property market, but they\u2019re doing it in different ways,\u201d says Propertyology\u2019s Managing Director Simon Pressley.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re open to different, more flexible approaches, and you\u2019ve got to respect that. They\u2019re educated, confident, determined and brave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most successful young investors we see are more ambitious about financial independence, than say, their parents were. And it\u2019s paying off for them, partly because this generation is more receptive to investing in parts of regional Australia where property is more affordable and the potential for growth is better than what most realise,\u201d Pressley says.
\nPerhaps it\u2019s because Gen Y appears to be in the midst of its own baby boom, but many card-carrying members are realising it\u2019s time to take the next step. Mr Pressley says despite a decade or more of predictions that they\u2019d never be able to afford it, the generation currently aged 23 to 35 is finally investing in bricks and mortar.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re finding that Millennials are less set in their ways and braver than previous generations. They\u2019re more willing to take on a degree of risk, and they generally have a more flexible approach to life,\u201d says Mr Pressley.
\n\u201cThey\u2019ve grown up in an era of ever-changing technology. They don\u2019t stay in the same jobs like their parents did, and they invest differently, too. Gen Y and Millennials are keen to look outside the square.\u201d
\nWith median house prices in most of Australia\u2019s big cities being north of $600,000, young buyers either can\u2019t save a big enough deposit, can\u2019t afford the mortgage payments, or aren\u2019t content living in parts of their home city where they can afford to buy.
\nMr Pressley says \u2018rent-vesting\u2019 is just one way that savvy Millennials are having their cake, and eating it too.
\n\u201cIn a lot of cases, Gen Y\u2019s aren\u2019t ready to anchor themselves to a particular home. They want to do some adventuring and they\u2019re open to moving for better employment opportunities, but renting doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not savvy property owners,\u201d he says.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve helped young clients make very sound investment choices in growth areas outside of high profile cities, while still living in properties which suit their flexible lifestyle\u201d.
\nMillennials are also harnessing the benefit of having extensive investor information at their fingertips from a very young age. \u201cBuying the family home first often creates a set of beliefs about property that, while these are important to your own unique circumstances, aren\u2019t useful for making good investment decisions,\u201d Pressley said.
\nIndeed, the strategy of some Gen Ys is to use the equity they make in \u2018rent-vesting\u2019 as a deposit for their own home at a later date. Others are happy to continue renting indefinitely, while they simultaneously build an impressive property portfolio.
\n\u201cWe really need to start giving credit where credit\u2019s due. Gen Y and the Millennials are quite savvy, and many of them are actually starting to invest a lot earlier than say the Baby Boomers did,\u201d says Mr Pressley.
\n\u201cGen Y and the Millennials are increasingly realising that if they make the same financial decisions as their parents and grandparents, they\u2019ll end up in a similar position later in life.\u201d
\n\u201cThey want to enjoy all of the creature comforts of life in their 50s through to their 80s, and they understand it would be foolish to rely on aged pensions and employer-funded superannuation,\u201d he says.
\n\u201cRemember, only 18% of the 3.68 million Australians currently aged over 65 are financially independent.\u201d
\nPoor old Baby Boomers. Here\u2019s hoping there\u2019ll be nothing poor about young Gen Y. Pressley hopes the demographic shift he\u2019s seeing is a sign the younger generation will be able to grow and retain wealth well into their retirement.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s so much information out there these days; most of it is poor quality and \/ or produced with vested interests. Propertyology\u2019s core role is to collate, analyse, and interpret information to help everyday Aussies to invest wisely,\u201d he says.
\n\u201cWe are a team of skilled professionals with a good reputation, which includes helping more and more young people to invest in strategically-locations all over Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Let\u2019s face it, the Millennials have the coolest name of ALL the generations. But, if you\u2019re to believe the popular consensus, they and their slightly older cousins Gen Y are really up against it in the battle to buy that most basic of human requirements…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176692471,"featured_media":13788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,13,20,22],"tags":[70],"class_list":["post-13786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-case-studies-topic","category-latest-story","category-propertyology","category-research-topic","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\n