Gen Z are ‘lucky snowflakes’, apart from the fact we aren’t

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I like to rebel against the markers of my age group – I prefer playing soccer to scrolling social media, I’m rarely seen holding a placard in the street, and I think avocado on toast is fairly average, actually.

But I’m here to stick up for the kids born between 1997 and 2012. Because while we’re told we’re special snowflakes who have it good, there’s never been a tougher time in recent memory to secure necessities such as housing, and some of us are falling between the gaps.

I’m here to stick up for the kids born between 1997 and 2012.Credit: Joe Armao

At least two of the things I just mentioned stem from an inconvenient truth: I was lucky. I’ve faced my fair share of challenges, but I’ve had a supportive family: my parents subsidised my soccer registration as a kid, I’ve never had to worry about my next meal and, well, growing up I had a huge avocado tree in my backyard.

Moving to Sydney last year, I was forced out of my safe bubble and encountered another: the housing bubble. Buying a place was out of the question, so I joined the rental rat race. I could live close to work, avoid breaking the bank or have functional plumbing, but not all three.

I often hear people say that buying a house has always been hard, and that we should quit complaining – and quiet-quitting while we’re at it. But even after accounting for inflation, you could buy a house in Sydney or Melbourne in 1980 for one-quarter of the price of an average house today. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Applied Economics’ managing director Peter Abelson suggests it would have taken five years’ worth of median income in 1980 to pay off a house in Sydney at the time, and three years for one in Melbourne. Paying off a house today requires about 13 and 10 years’ worth of today’s median income in Sydney and Melbourne respectively.

Abelson pointed out that mortgage repayments as a percentage of income have scarcely risen, but admitted there is a substantial problem with being able to put down a first home deposit (without family help).

Some people say buying a house has always been hard.Credit: Peter Rae

Then there’s renting. After a 22 per cent increase in unit rents over the year, we’re facing some of the highest rent increases on record in Australia. And the Reserve Bank expects it to keep rising. It’s a scramble to get a roof above our heads now, let alone to think about saving for a house.

To paint the picture, median rent for a unit in Sydney was $575 a week last year and total average weekly earnings for a full-time adult was $1877 before tax. That means 31 per cent of an average person’s income was used to pay rent – that’s before the recent jump in median unit rent to $620. Note, spending more than 30 per cent of gross income on housing constitutes housing stress.

Many young people share with at least one other person (my flatmate has the misfortune of being stuck with someone who needs several fire alarms to wake up). But with a shortage of housing, we’re more likely to put up with substandard conditions.

When we’re not being forced out by stratospheric increases in rent, the possibility of playing musical chairs for a new place is a constant worry.

In Melbourne, median unit rent was slightly more forgiving at $450 a week last year, meaning a quarter of national median income was spent on rent. But think about the proportion of Gen Zs earning even close to the average earnings figure.

It’s no wonder some of us draw down on the bank of mum and dad, especially as cost of living becomes ever-pressing. But contemplating a bank run on parents’ savings is a privilege.

Australia has a good social welfare system, but the stress on young people who don’t have stable family backing is a policy failure.

Youth Allowance – financial help for young people studying or looking for work – isn’t cutting it. The maximum fortnightly payment for an eligible young person who has to live away from their parents is $282 a week. Rent Assistance bumps that up by $79, but even sharing an apartment becomes a stretch.

A young person receiving the maximum $361 in weekly support payments, paying $310 in rent to share an average Sydney unit, is left with $51. That doesn’t even cover an average weekly grocery bill of $100 for a single person, let alone transport or insurance. Enter: the instant noodle diet.

Those lucky enough to find work on top of full-time study can earn an extra $75 weekly before their allowance cuts back, and up to $558 before it goes to zero – barely enough to cover the median $550 unit rent across the capital cities.

Fortunately, I work a full-time job that pays enough to cover a little more than the necessities. And if misfortune hits, I know my parents could step in.

Now imagine living on $360 a week, without that privilege. Studying and working for the best chance of landing your dream job, worrying about stretching out your income and having no out button if things become too tough.

It’s rough out there as a Gen Z, but the extent of the troubles are hidden by those of us lucky enough to have financial support from parents. Not everyone has that – let’s not forget them.

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