The cost-of-living crisis puts long-held dreams further out of reach. Data shows how this happened."It was still the quarter acre lot. The Hills hoist, that kind of paradigm," he says.
"I would love to have a child, but I don't think I could do it as one person with the costs of childcare and everything … which is quite sad," she says."The Australian dream is over. I think that's symbolic of a past time. I don't think the world's been like that since 2001." "The reality is that the cost of the loans was much smaller, because house prices were much lower, but also relative to what they were earning, it was much lower," Mr Jericho says.In 1990, the average mortgage was about three times the yearly wage for a 34-year-old. Now it's eight times.Young people are entering the market later due to higher property costs and repaying a loan is getting harder — particularly if they entered the market in 2021, when house prices peaked.
His small horticultural business based in Woy Woy on NSW's Central Coast has been thriving. After paying off staff wages and costs, he's managed to save up $70,000 with his partner for a house deposit. "We can't afford in our area, it has to be in the middle of nowhere — but my work's here. I'm stuck here because if I move my business and start over we won't be able to afford the mortgage repayments," he says."Life has never been cruisy for any generation. The early 1990s recession was well beyond anything that millennials have really had to deal with in their adult working life in terms of unemployment … but there was a recovery," says Mr Jericho.
While most age groups flatlined, older generations are often better cushioned due to having other sources of income, according to Grattan Institute research. Clementine feels like it's the costs that matter to her future most that keep going up. She'd started talks with a potential donor and researched foster care, but cost-of-living concerns have paused her motherhood plans.
"We keep hearing, 'Everything's great, the economy is growing,' but if your life isn't getting better, what's the purpose of all that growth?"