THE AUSTRALIAN HOUSING market is a wealth-generating machine, not a home-generating machine. So much is wrong with the current situation. No doubt you see it too; everybody seems to on some level. That’s why we keep hearing about the ‘Australian housing crisis’. I can see it, and I proudly consider myself an old-school capitalist, with a preference for free enterprise, fair competition, private property rights and the chance to make an occasional profit. We now find ourselves with a de facto caste system in Australia: the home owners relative to the home renters. Both groups need homes, but there is a marked wealth division between those collecting passive income on houses they own and those living solely on direct income who are forever chasing a rising market. Home owners benefit in myriad ways, with stability, equity capture, better credit conditions, investment opportunities and tax advantages. Renters get uncertain tenure, poor-quality management, pet restrictions and an impending sense of doom in the run-up to lease-renewal time.

Home ownership in Australia is a unique exception to tall poppy syndrome, the cultural checks-and-balances system designed to stop anyone from getting too big for their boots. Owning one house is lauded; owning more than one is held in near-mythical status. Success in the housing market may be demonstrated in the most vulgar of ways, and it’s socially approved of. Conversely, not owning a home diminishes your standing and potential. This is most keenly felt by the under-thirty-five cohort, among whom home ownership rates are plummeting. It’s getting worse year on year, and the future is looking grim: those who don’t already own their home are relentlessly overwhelmed by the gravity of the market as home prices increase more in weeks than incomes do in years. Rents are creeping up all the time as well. If you’re in on the dream, chances are you’re enjoying the uplift. If you’re not, you’re probably looking on desperately as the idea of owning your own home floats further beyond your reach.