The latest MLC Wealth Sentiment Survey contains further evidence of the pressure on households and their finances.
Being able to save has been a challenge for a number of Australians – almost 1 in 5 of us have been unable to save any of our income in recent years, and for more than 1 in 4 of us only 1-5%.
Expectations for future income growth are very conservative – nearly 1 in 3 Australians expect no change in income over the next few years and 15% expect it to fall.
So, not surprisingly, our savings expectations for the future are also very conservative – with more than 1 in 5 Australians believing their savings will fall.
The “great Australian dream” of home ownership is still a reality for many, but for some it’s just a dream – fewer than 1 in 10 Australians said they didn’t want to own their own home, but 1 in 4 said home ownership was something they aspired to but did not think it would happen. Young people still have broadly similar aspirations around home ownership as middle-aged Australians.
Most of us wait and save more before buying our first home and many are prepared to buy some way out of the city – almost 1 in 3 would/did wait longer to have a bigger deposit, and 1 in 4 would live in a suburb some way out of the city to purchase their first home. Around 16% would live in an apartment and 12% further away from work and family or a regional area.
Most Australians don’t plan to or are unwilling to use the family home to fund their retirement – only 18% 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 average Australian home owner has around $547,000 of equity in the family home.
