"A man is not a plan!" Why young women are giving up on home ownership

A landmark Women and Property Report from Cotality, alongside insights from View.com.au financial expert Jessica Brady, reveals a generational divide that is turning the great Australian dream of home ownership into a high-priced fortress, particularly for Gen Z and Millennial women.

More than half of Australians who are yet to purchase a home (53 per cent) say they have been held back by the upfront costs of buying, such as deposits, stamp duty and other transaction fees - a barrier that falls even more heavily on women.

For women who do not yet own property, this figure rises to 56 per cent, compared with 50 per cent of men, underscoring the persistent gender gap in financial security and savings capacity.

The challenge is particularly acute for Gen Z, typically defined as Australians born between 1997 and 2012, with 58 per cent citing upfront costs as their main obstacle.

Ongoing affordability pressures also play a major role, with nearly one in three Australians (29 per cent) holding off buying because they believe mortgage repayments, council rates and other ongoing expenses are too high. This concern is strongest among Gen Z, at 40 per cent.

The income wall: Why women are stalling on home ownership

The barrier to entry in 2026 is not just the sticker price on a Victorian cottage; it is the pay cheque. Jessica Brady is blunt: "Beyond the purchase price itself, the data reveals a key reason why young women are less likely to be purchasing property: income."

The numbers tell a sobering story. While property ownership increases with age, the gender wage gap widens significantly mid-career. Among millennials - the prime age group for first-home buying - two-thirds of women earn less than $100,000, compared with fewer than half of men.

"Less income often (but not always) means there is less capacity to save for a deposit, less borrowing power and less ability to financially withstand any future rate hikes or unplanned expenses," Brady said.

This translates to a stark reality: one-third of Gen Z and millennial women are effectively giving up on home ownership.

For decades, if the city felt like a financial cage in terms of home ownership, you simply moved to the country. But as we move through 2026, a new reality is setting in for women in regional Australia.

The border battle: Albury-Wodonga

Nowhere is the hip-pocket pain more acute than in the regional border towns of Albury-Wodonga. While locals struggle with stagnant wages, the market is on fire. Wodonga home prices surged 13.1 per cent in 2025 - more than double the regional Victorian average.

"Sydney and Melbourne investors are buying sight unseen," local agents report. This influx is pushing local property aspirations out of reach. For the one in five Gen Z women who admit they "don't know where to start" with the buying process, the speed of the border market is daunting.

Cotality Australia's Head of Research, Gerard Burg, said the data suggests affordability pressures may be reshaping long-held aspirations, particularly among younger women who face greater difficulty accumulating the savings required to enter the property market.

"These findings raise important questions for policymakers, industry leaders and financial institutions about how to better support young Australians - especially women - in achieving property ownership, if it remains a national goal. Women's property aspirations are also constrained as the gender pay gap builds over the course of their careers."

Central Goldfields: The $1 million Trentham luxury

In central Victoria, the country escape from Melbourne's metro prices is becoming an out-of-reach luxury. Trentham, with a median house price of $1 million, has cemented its status as a prestige enclave. Meanwhile, rising prices in Castlemaine are forcing locals to look further afield, as commuter-friendly locations become investment hotspots.

Looking at the major regional centres, Ballarat's median of $592,000 and low vacancy rates appear affordable - until you factor in that 40 per cent of very low-income households in the region are in rental stress. In Bendigo, relief is finally coming in the form of Burnayi Lurnayi, a 35-dwelling social housing project dedicated specifically to women.

The satellite cities: Newcastle and the Illawarra

For those looking north or south of Sydney, the goalposts have shifted. The October 2025 expansion of the First Home Guarantee saw price caps for Newcastle and the Illawarra jump to $1.5 million.

While this is a lifeline for some, it has also intensified competition in suburbs such as Hamilton and Mayfield. In the Illawarra, Wollongong house medians have reached $1.3 million, while rents have surged 30 per cent to $740 a week.

Cotality Australia's Chief Commercial Officer, Lisa Jennings, added that property ownership underpins financial security, wellbeing and long-term opportunity.

"Early entry to the property market gives more time for wealth to accumulate and provides a gateway to more options later, as well as the tenure benefits of owning property. This is a concern for younger women, who do not own property as frequently as men."

"Saving for a home deposit has become significantly harder for many young Australian women, particularly as they navigate lower average earnings, career breaks and rising living costs. If we want property ownership to remain an achievable goal, it's critical that governments, industry and employers work together to remove barriers and provide targeted support that helps women build savings and enter the market with confidence," Jennings added.

The most alarming insight for Brady is that women across all age groups are less likely to have any investments at all. One-third of women report having zero assets outside their bank account.

Brady suggests seriously considering buying property with friends or exploring alternative pathways into the property market.

"Ladies, now is the time to build your financial confidence and capability. What you do (or don't do) now matters. Maybe the jokes we make about buying with friends and living in one big, dysfunctional house together need to be seriously considered. Maybe it's about looking outside property as an asset class altogether?

"My message is clear - do something. Create a plan for your money and your big life goals, because no one wants to see the young women (and men) of Australia left behind. And until the government steps up with genuinely meaningful action to address house prices, sisters, we need to do what we can to build financial security and wealth for ourselves."