Yes, it's tougher, BB, I don't think anyone disputes that - which means young people have to think out of the box. Here's an example: When I was nearing my 18th birthday (very early 70's) my goal was to buy property. Like most of us at that age I owned nothing, but my car and my take-home pay was<$70pw, so seemingly impossible. In light of those impediments, I formed a syndicate of 7 friends (including me), and we purchased a property, sharing all the cost of ownership, improvements and mortgage, so easily (individually) affordable. We kept it for 3 or 4 years (I think), using it for our exclusive use and sold it for a healthy profit. That profit split 7 ways gave us all the required amount, from a deposit perspective, to purchase our own homes.
What some here don't appreciate is that life isn't fair - never has been, never will be. It's brutal. So, sacrifices have to be made, the limitation of seemingly inescapable boxes ignored. Even in today's RE market the above, simple formula is a viable option to enter and profit from RE - best suited for an 18-year-old while one still has a close coterie of friends. Even so, it would work for almost any age if one can source suitable syndicate members. Keeping in mind that the above property syndicate dynamic is only suitable for a limited period in order to get on the RE ladder and have the financial ability to purchase sometime later as an individual. It is also of note that many new Australians employ a similar method, albeit at a family level.
No amount of bitching that the world and the system as it stands is unfair will solve any problems - at least not in the near term. Thinking outside the box and sacrifice will.
