![1 in 4 don’t believe home ownership is possible](/images/Housemoney_197x128.jpg)
The latest MLC Quarterly Australian Wealth Behaviour Survey has found that the great Australian dream of home ownership could remain a dream for 25 per cent of Aussies.
MLC surveyed over 2,000 Australians and found that fewer than one in 10 Australians said that they didn’t want to own their own home. However, one in four said that home ownership was something they aspired to but did not think it would happen.
The survey found that young people still have “broadly similar aspirations” around home ownership as middle-aged Australians.
A third of Aussies said that they were willing to wait longer to have a bigger deposit, and 25 per cent would live in a suburb some way out of the city to purchase their first home. Around 16 per cent would live in an apartment and 12 per cent would live further away from work and family or a regional area.
Interestingly, the survey found that most Australians don’t plan to or are unwilling to use the family home to fund their retirement.
Only 18 per cent would be willing to use the family home to fund their retirement either by selling it or using part of their home as equity. The MLC survey found that the average Australian home owner has around $547,000 of equity in the family home.
While paying off debt remains a high priority for many, over the next 12 months more Australians are looking to build their savings.
“Increasing savings has overtaken paying off debt as the main focus for investors in the next 12 months,” the report noted.
“But for those planning to invest additional money in the next 12 months, around 50 per cent want to invest outside mainstream investments, 25 per cent in cash and 21 per cent in superannuation.”