Is there more young people in the state of victoria that arent buying new houses and where are they living instead
Executive summary
A clear, quantified rise in the share of young Victorians who are not buying homes is not presented in the materials supplied; however the reporting and policy documents point to strong signals that younger people are being priced out of traditional house purchase and are instead concentrated in rental apartments, medium‑density units, basement or secondary suites, co‑living and multigenerational households [1] [2] [3] [4]. Government planning and fiscal measures — rezoning for higher densities, stamp‑duty concessions for off‑the‑plan units and targets for medium‑density housing — are being mobilised to respond to that shift [5] [6] [7].
1. What the question really asks and what the sources actually show
The user is asking two linked questions: whether a growing share of young people in Victoria are foregoing buying homes, and where those people are living instead; the supplied reporting contains strong circumstantial evidence about changing demand and supply (rental tightness, unit price strength, policy pivots toward medium density) but does not provide a single authoritative statistic that states “X% more young people are not buying” over a defined period, so conclusions must be drawn from trend reporting and policy responses rather than a discrete dataset [2] [1] [3].
2. Affordability pressures pushing younger cohorts out of the house‑buying market
Multiple property commentators and market reports frame affordability as the dominant force nudging younger buyers away from detached houses toward other tenures: unit markets have recently outpaced houses in price performance and are forecast to remain the primary entry point for younger buyers seeking affordability, reflecting constrained access to traditional house‑and‑land purchases [1] [8]. Rental markets are described as “tight” with low vacancy rates, which both signals high numbers of households that cannot buy and keeps many young people renting for longer [2] [3].
3. Where those young people are living instead
The reporting consistently identifies several destinations for younger Victorians who are not buying: medium‑density apartments and townhouses (including off‑the‑plan units), apartments and basement suites in inner areas, and shared or multigenerational living arrangements; industry sources emphasise apartments and “missing middle” products as the likely housing forms for those priced out of houses [2] [1] [9] [3]. Academic research from other contexts also finds a rising tendency for young adults to live with parents or in family households rather than immediately forming independent homeowners — a pattern that complements Australian market signals, although that study is US‑focused and should be read as contextual rather than locally definitive [4].
4. Policy and industry are pivoting toward medium‑density and rentals
State plans and budgets show a policy response aimed at keeping young people in their communities through denser housing close to transport and jobs: stamp‑duty concessions for off‑the‑plan apartments, rezoning around transport nodes, and legislative planning reforms to speed approvals are intended to boost medium‑density supply and create more affordable entry options for younger buyers and renters [5] [7] [6]. Developers and industry forecasters echo that the “missing middle” — townhouses, mid‑rise and multiplexes — is the growth opportunity consistent with both affordability pressures and government targets [9] [1].
5. Competing narratives, political angles and what to watch
Different actors have incentives to frame the story differently: industry commentators emphasise market opportunity and unit price strength (helpful to developers and agents) while government storytelling focuses on reforming planning and delivering homes close to transport to win younger voters and neutralise NIMBY opposition [1] [7] [5]. Media coverage that highlights a “housing revolution” flags both a real shift in built form and a political contest over who benefits from zoning and approvals changes [7]. What is missing in the supplied reporting is robust age‑cohort breakdowns over time that would prove a larger numerical shift in homeownership among young Victorians — that data gap should be filled by ABS or state housing surveys.
6. Bottom line
The balance of evidence in the supplied reporting points to more younger people in Victoria being priced out of buying detached houses and instead living in rental apartments, basement suites, medium‑density units, shared housing or with family, with policy and industry aligning to increase these housing forms; however, the materials do not supply a single, population‑level statistic that quantifies “more young people not buying,” so the conclusion is drawn from multiple complementary market signals and policy moves rather than a discrete trendline in demographic ownership rates [2] [1] [3] [5] [7] [4].