By Michael Yardney February 11, 2026

A A A

0 View comments

The forgotten generation that will quietly reshape Australia’s housing market

Michael Yardney's Commentary
The forgotten generation that will quietly reshape Australia’s housing market

Key takeaways

Gen X bought property at the perfect point in history: before price-to-income ratios exploded and during decades of falling interest rates.

That timing gave them outsized equity gains, often stronger than Baby Boomers achieved at the same life stage and far ahead of Millennials.

Right now, Gen X is stretched: adult kids at home, ageing parents, peak-career responsibility, and larger mortgages taken on during the pandemic. But this is a transitional phase.

As mortgages are paid down, kids leave home, and inheritances flow, their financial position will improve rapidly, often suddenly, in the mid-2030s.

Contrary to popular belief, Gen X will increase demand for family-sized homes over the next decade.

When Gen X does downsize, they’ll do it pragmatically. Expect strong future demand for high-quality townhouses and apartments in walkable, lifestyle-rich locations.

As wealth accumulates, Gen X will increasingly fund their children’s property purchases. Unlike previous generations, they’ll approach this analytically, recognising that helping with deposits can save their children hundreds of thousands in interest

If you listen to the public conversation about property, you’d think Australia’s housing market is a tug-of-war between Baby Boomers and Millennials.

Boomers are blamed for owning everything. Millennials are portrayed as locked out and angry about it.

But that framing misses the generation that has already done exceptionally well from property, and is now entering the most influential decade of its life.

Generation X - born roughly between the mid-1960s and late-1970s, Gen X has spent most of its adult life flying under the radar.

They don’t protest loudly, don’t dominate social media narratives, and don’t ask for much attention.

Yet as demographer Simon Kuestenmacher says in our latest episode of Demographics Decoded podcast, “Gen X is the forgotten generation — the middle child. But they are quiet achievers, and this decade is extremely Gen X-heavy.”

And when you look closely at demographics, wealth cycles, and housing demand, it becomes clear: Gen X will be one of the most powerful forces shaping Australia’s property market over the next 10 to 15 years.

How Generation X Will Shape Australia’s Housing Market in the Decade Ahead

Watch this video on YouTube

For weekly insights subscribe to the Demographics Decoded podcast, where we will continue to explore these trends and their implications in greater detail.

Subscribe now on your favourite Podcast player:

Gen X won the property lottery, whether they realise it or not

Most Gen X Australians entered the housing market at a sweet spot in history.

They bought when:

prices were still broadly aligned with incomes
lending was conservative
deposits were achievable
and interest rates were high but falling

Then, over the following decades, they benefited from:

sustained capital growth
repeated interest rate cutting cycles
financial deregulation
and the expansion of credit availability

The compounding effect of that timing has been enormous.

As Simon explains:

“Part of this is simply the generational lottery. Gen X bought property at exactly the right time. They had falling interest rates and rising prices working in their favour.”

Recent data confirms this.

Gen X homeowners who bought in their mid-20s have often achieved stronger relative capital growth than Baby Boomers did at the same age, and dramatically more than Millennials have managed so far.

This matters, because it shaped Gen X’s behaviour. They didn’t just buy shelter; they internalised property as a reliable wealth-building vehicle.

Many upgraded homes, leveraged equity, or added investment properties, reinforcing a cycle of asset accumulation that continues today.

Equity rich, time poor: the pressure decade

Despite their strong balance sheets, Gen X is not cruising right now.

In fact, this is arguably the most financially stressful decade of their lives.

They’re the classic “sandwich generation”:

adult children still at home longer than previous generations
parents ageing and requiring support
mortgages often upgraded during the pandemic at ultra-low rates
peak career responsibility, often in leadership roles

Simon describes it bluntly:

“They’re burning the candle from three ends. Kids, parents, and mortgages, all at once.”

What’s important, though, is that this pressure is cyclical, not permanent.

Over the next decade:

mortgages will be paid down or extinguished
children will eventually leave home
parental care costs will peak, then disappear
inheritances will begin to flow

And when that happens, Gen X’s financial position improves dramatically, often very suddenly.

“One random Tuesday in the mid-2030s,” Simon notes, “the kids are gone, the mortgage is paid, and the last parent has passed. And suddenly, all those pressures vanish.”

Ironically, that surge in financial freedom comes when their lifestyle costs are falling, not rising.

Generations

Why Gen X will increase demand for large homes, for now

A common assumption is that as Gen X ages, demand for large family homes will decline.

In reality, the next decade is likely to see continued, even increased demand from this cohort.

Because Gen X households increasingly need:

flexible living arrangements
multi-generational space
adult children staying longer
ageing parents living with or near them
dedicated home offices

As Simon puts it, “For the next 10 years, Gen X wants big houses. Kids at home, parents nearby, maybe a granny flat. And they want this in middle-ring suburbs.”

Now this is a crucial point for understanding what's ahead for our housing markets.

Gen X is not flocking to the urban fringe. They already own established homes in well-located middle suburbs, and many will choose to renovate, extend, or redevelop rather than relocate.

This supports:

strong demand for family homes in established areas
upward pressure on renovation costs
redevelopment opportunities (dual occupancy, studios, granny flats)
intensified competition with first-home buyers

Note: In other words, Gen X will quietly crowd the same stock that younger buyers aspire to.

Hybrid work wasn’t a phase; Gen X made it permanent

If any generation has truly embedded hybrid work into its lifestyle, it’s Gen X.

They make up the largest share of Australians working remotely or in hybrid roles, and they’re serious about it.

The messy Zoom calls of early COVID are gone.

Today’s Gen X buyer expects:

a separate, dedicated home office
acoustic privacy
professional-grade working conditions

This is not indulgence, it’s structural.

You see...Gen X grew up as the first generation where both parents worked full-time.

They saw the cost of long commutes and work-life imbalance firsthand.

“They watched their parents work themselves to death,” Simon explains, “and they decided there had to be a better way.”

And the result is:

stronger demand for larger homes
increased interest in lifestyle locations
and the rise of the “part-time commuter” model

Many Gen X households are now buying:

regional or coastal properties
second homes
or lifestyle upgrades within extreme commuting distance

Millennials often lack the equity to do this. Boomers don’t need to.

This is a distinctly Gen X strategy that is reshaping regional and lifestyle markets across Australia.

Downsizing will happen, but later, and more strategically

Gen X will downsize, just not yet.

And when they do, it will look very different to how Baby Boomers approached it.

This is a pragmatic, spreadsheet-driven generation. As Simon says:

“Boomers make more emotional decisions. Gen X will run the numbers.”

When the time comes, expect strong demand for:

high-quality townhouses
well-designed apartments
low-maintenance living
walkable neighbourhoods close to amenities

Tip: Walkability matters more than most people realise.

Research consistently shows far better mental health outcomes in walkable communities, especially among older adults, a pattern Gen X is more willing to plan for early.

The biggest friction point will be Stamp duty.

Selling a $2 million home and buying again can incur hundreds of thousands of dollars in transaction costs, a significant deterrent that delays downsizing and distorts housing supply.

Until that policy changes, many Gen X households will simply stay put longer than optimal.

The next Bank of Mum and Dad, with calculators out

Today’s Bank of Mum and Dad is largely funded by Baby Boomers.

Tomorrow’s will be Gen X. And they’ll approach it very differently.

Simon explains the logic clearly:

“If your kids avoid a $500,000 mortgage, you save them about a million dollars in repayments over time. Gen X understands that maths and they’ll act on it.”

This means:

earlier financial assistance
larger deposits
fewer decades lost to compound interest
Gen Z being better supported than Millennials ever were

It won’t make housing affordable, but it will reshape who has access to ownership and when.

Why Gen X will dominate the next decade quietly

Gen X may be smaller than the generations on either side of them, but they punch well above their weight.

They:

dominate senior leadership roles
control capital allocation decisions
hold significant housing equity
are politically influential
and think long-term

As Simon puts it:

“They are far more influential than we give them credit for: economically, politically, and in the property market.”

They’ve already shaped Australia’s housing market for 30 years. They just didn’t make much noise doing it.

Over the next decade, their influence won’t suddenly become loud, but it will become unmistakable.

For weekly insights, subscribe to the Demographics Decoded podcast, where we will continue to explore these trends and their implications in greater detail.