New report reveals Aussie homebuyer pressure and pain

Many Aussies feel pressured to buy homes they can’t afford. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard A new report has revealed a bleak reality for Australians with many feeling immense pressure to own a home they can barely afford – while more than half of mortgage holders now spend above the traditional threshold for mortgage stress and almost half are expecting to still be paying off their home loan in retirement. Finder’s 2026 Home Loan Report draws on Finder’s July 2026 Consumer Sentiment Tracker, a nationally representative survey of 1,011 Australian adults, 291 of whom currently hold a mortgage and 619 of whom own their home in some form. The research spotlights the growing financial strain facing Aussie homeowners and aspiring buyers, with 30 per cent saying they feel pressured to buy a property. Gen Z was feeling this pressure the highest of any generation, with 19 per cent of respondents saying they felt societal pressure to buy a home. For Gen Z buyers who did break into the market, this was reliant on family help, with 67 per cent of Gen Z home buyers saying they had received financial assistance from their family. Finder money editor Richard Whitten said the findings showed the ...