Scott Semmens owns his own home at age 23. Photo/file
It was great to read about a new homeowner in Saturday's Rotorua Daily Post. It's never been easy to go without and save enough for a deposit, so it's always encouraging to hear of young people managing to get their foot on the ladder.
However, as has been consistent with
stories about younger people who have managed to buy a home, is they all required assistance from their parents to get on the ladder, in this case, in the form of his parents guaranteeing the mortgage.
Based on these stories and anecdotal evidence, it seems the key requirement in a younger person buying a home has less to do with the person's finances, and more to do with their parents financial situation. If that doesn't sound like the best fuel for intergenerational inequality, then I don't know what does.
Home ownership rates are at the lowest level in 66 years, if this statistic continues to fall, there will be more people missing out on the social and financial benefits which come from home ownership.
In my view, this is an indictment on government policy, which currently treats houses as just another commodity to be bought and sold for profit, instead of somewhere to raise your family.
