Have you ever looked around the property market and felt like someone else already owns the whole board?

Like you’re playing Monopoly but your opponent passed “Go” decades before you were even dealt your first card?

That feeling is real.

And if you’re a Millennial or Gen Z, it’s probably more than just a hunch — data backs it.

In this episode of Demographics Decoded, Simon Kuestenmacher and I explored whether Baby Boomers really had it easier, how the game has changed, and what younger Australians can do to adapt, invest, and still build wealth in today’s environment.

For weekly insights and strategic advice, subscribe to the Demographics Decoded podcast, where we will continue to explore these trends and their implications in greater detail.

Subscribe now on your favourite Podcast player:

The numbers don’t lie: Baby Boomers hold the wealth

Let’s start with the data.

According to the HILDA survey — a longitudinal study tracking income, employment, housing and family dynamics — Baby Boomers currently own 54% of all dwellings in Australia, while making up just 26% of households.

That’s not just a disproportionate share, it’s a structural shift in wealth.

Boomer households, on average, are worth over $1 million, while Millennials sit just above $500,000.

That’s a 2x gap, and while part of that reflects the simple mechanics of compounding and time, Simon rightly pointed out that this gap is larger than expected and reveals a deeper imbalance.

And that’s before you account for debt.

Boomers have significantly reduced their liabilities, while younger generations are more leveraged than ever, carrying not just mortgage debt, but HECS debt, consumer credit, and higher living costs across the board.

It wasn’t “easy” back then — but it was different

Here’s the nuance that often gets lost in the debate.

As a Boomer myself, I can confidently say that we worked hard, lived frugally, and took risks.

Buying property in the 70s and 80s wasn’t stress-free.

Banks wouldn’t even consider a wife’s income when assessing loans.

Interest rates hit double digits.

The concept of dual-income borrowing didn’t exist until later.

But what we did have were structural tailwinds:

• Free university education (no HECS debt).
• Lower house price-to-income ratios — homes cost just 3–4x the average annual income, compared to over 9x today.
• Rapid inflation and growth — property values doubled in the 70s and again in the 80s.
• Wider suburban expansion — Boomers could buy affordable land on the city fringes with good infrastructure, and commute to the CBDs on free (and mostly uncongested) highways.

These factors made it easier to build wealth through property, provided you were disciplined and committed for the long haul.

Expectations have shifted — and that matters

Simon made a sharp observation: Millennials aren’t just facing a tougher financial environment, but they’re also managing higher expectations.

Baby Boomers started families in their early to mid-20s. Today, people are doing that a decade later.

That means:

• The “starter home” needs to be more sophisticated — bigger, better located, and suitable for a family.
• Remote work has made dedicated studies or home offices more common, raising the bar on what “livable” means.
• Cultural norms now suggest each child deserves their own bedroom, adding another layer of cost.

This isn’t entitlement, it’s evolution.

It’s not realistic to tell people to “lower their standards” when those standards are now embedded in societal expectations.

And with urban density increasing, land is scarcer, construction is more expensive (thanks to higher standards, better materials, and labour shortages), and we haven’t built any new major cities to spread the load.

That puts even more pressure on prices.

Gen X: the forgotten generation — and the most squeezed

Often overlooked in these conversations is Generation X — the current “sandwich generation” aged 40–59.

These Australians are:

• Still paying off mortgages,
• Financially supporting their young adult children,
• Caring for ageing parents,
• Trying to upgrade to their final family home, and
• Starting to think about retirement.

As Simon put it, “they’re being squeezed from both ends.”

The good news?

In about a decade, the financial pressure may ease as their children become independent and their parents pass on.

But right now, the squeeze is real, and many won’t be able to afford that final property upgrade they’d hoped for.

The Bank of Mum and Dad — lifeline or divider?

Enter the Bank of Mum and Dad — the fifth-largest lender in the country.

With an estimated $4 to $6 trillion in wealth set to be transferred intergenerationally over the next 15 years, many Baby Boomers are choosing to pass on wealth “with a warm hand”, helping children or grandchildren with deposits or home purchases.

Simon made a key point here: if parents give a child $100,000, that could save them over $200,000 in long-term mortgage interest.

It’s not just a gift, it’s leverage.

But this trend is also creating a widening divide between asset-rich families who can help their children and those who can’t.

And that, over time, becomes a systemic inequality where property ownership becomes the key determinant of wealth and opportunity.

The rise of rentvesting — a smart response to a shifting market

Given the challenges of buying where you live, a growing number of younger Australians are embracing rentvesting — renting in the lifestyle location they want while investing in a more affordable area.

This strategy allows:

• Greater lifestyle flexibility,
• Potentially higher rental yields and capital growth elsewhere, and
• Tax deductibility on many of the property’s expenses, including interest, insurance, and maintenance.

As more apartments come onto the market and regional areas grow, we’re likely to see this become an increasingly common strategy, especially for first-time investors who are priced out of their desired owner-occupier locations.

Policy must catch up, and drop ineffective measures

Simon offered a clear policy message: scrap first home buyer grants.

They sound helpful.

But in reality, they simply pour fuel on the fire, pushing prices up by inflating demand without addressing the real problem: a chronic shortage of supply.

We need bolder reform:

• Replace stamp duty with land tax to improve mobility.
• Incentivise new developments, especially medium-density housing in well-located suburbs.
• Rezone inner- and middle-ring suburbs to allow for smart infill.
• Rethink the role of investors, ensuring that taxation policies don’t push renters out of the supply.

If we want to reduce long-term poverty, reduce wealth inequality, and preserve social trust in our system, housing must be treated as infrastructure, not just a financial asset.

Younger Australians still hold the trump card: time

Yes, Boomers got a head start.

Yes, the rules have changed.

But younger Australians have something money can’t buy: time.

Time to:

• Learn the game,
• Build savings,
• Invest wisely,
• Adapt to new market realities, and
• Leverage strategies like rentvesting, co-investing, and long-term portfolio planning.

The earlier you begin, the more options you have.

It’s not about “timing the market.”

It’s about time in the market.

Final thoughts: don’t complain about the game — learn to win it

Every generation faces its own set of challenges.

Boomers didn’t have it “easy,” but they had structural advantages.

Millennials and Gen Z face headwinds, but also have tools, information, and strategic support that didn’t exist 40 years ago.

The key is not to wish for different rules, but to learn how to play smarter within the current ones.

• Get the right advice.
• Choose the right team.
• Build a long-term plan.
• Focus on owning income-producing assets, not just owning where you live.
• And remember: in the real world, you get to build your own board.

If you missed out on passing Go in the 80s or 90s, that doesn’t mean you can’t still build wealth today.

It just means you need a different strategy.

The good news?

You’ve got time, and if you play it right, that’s the most powerful asset of all.

 

If you found this discussion helpful, don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast and share it with others who might benefit.

Subscribe now on your favourite Podcast player:

About Michael Yardney
Michael is the founder of Metropole Property Strategists who help their clients grow, protect and pass on their wealth through independent, unbiased property advice and advocacy. He’s once again been voted Australia’s leading property investment adviser and one of Australia’s 50 most influential Thought Leaders. His opinions are regularly featured in the media.