Key takeaways
Gen X now holds more property wealth than any other generation, averaging $1.455 million in dwellings and land compared to $1.36 million for Baby Boomers.
Baby Boomers remain Australia's wealthiest generation overall, with an average net worth of $2.375 million, as they shift assets out of property and into cash and superannuation.
The average Millennial household has a net worth of $905,000, still weighed down by $460,000 in average debt, the highest of any generation.
Households aged 25-34 recorded the fastest wealth growth of any age group over the past five years, up 63 per cent, but KPMG warns that low interest rate window has now closed.
The 55-64 age bracket holds the highest net worth of any age group at $2.507 million, driven by $1.529 million in property and $756,000 in superannuation.
Younger Australians are building superannuation from a much higher base than their parents, positioning them for significantly larger retirement balances despite today's affordability challenges.
Which generation actually holds the most wealth in property?
The answer might surprise you, and so will what's happening beneath the surface as Baby Boomers quietly shift their fortunes out of bricks and mortar and into cash.
Recent analysis from KPMG has given us the clearest picture yet of how wealth is really distributed across Australian generations, and it is overturning a few assumptions many investors still cling to.
Baby Boomers still lead, but Gen X has taken the property crown
Let's start with the headline numbers.
Baby Boomer households remain the wealthiest overall, with an average net worth of $2.375 million once their combined assets and remaining debts are accounted for.
But here's what's changed. Gen X households, those born between 1965 and 1980, now hold more property wealth than any other generation, averaging $1.455 million in dwellings and land, compared with $1.36 million for Baby Boomers.
For many, that's a surprising shift, and KPMG Urban Economist Terry Rawnsley explains exactly why it's happening.
He points to what's often called the great wealth transfer, where Baby Boomers are downsizing their properties and moving that capital into cash and superannuation as they settle into retirement or begin handing wealth down to their children.
Gen X has also pulled ahead in shares, holding an average of $235,000 compared to $180,000 for Baby Boomers. Millennials, by contrast, are still a long way behind on every measure that matters.
Here's how the full picture breaks down across the three generations.
Table 1: Household wealth by asset class by birth cohort, 2024-25
| Wealth Category | Millennials (1981-1996) | Gen X (1965-1980) | Baby Boomer (1946-1964) |
| Dwellings & Land | $890,000 | $1,455,000 | $1,360,000 |
| Cash & Deposit | $115,000 | $195,000 | $220,000 |
| Shares | $60,000 | $235,000 | $180,000 |
| Super & Insurance Reserves | $245,000 | $590,000 | $630,000 |
| Other Assets | $60,000 | $130,000 | $140,000 |
| Loans | -$460,000 | -$425,000 | -$160,000 |
| Net Worth | $905,000 | $2,180,000 | $2,375,000 |
Source: KPMG analysis of ABS National Accounts and Household Income and Wealth Survey data, January 2026.
Look closely at that Millennial column and you'll see something Rawnsley makes clear.
For the average Millennial household, property remains largely a liability, which is why their net worth is below the actual value of the property they own. They're carrying the highest debt load of any generation, at $460,000, a figure that includes mortgages stacked on top of HECS debts for many younger buyers.
There is nothing new about this pattern - early in your property journey, the asset works for the bank as much as it works for you, and it's only years of capital growth and debt reduction that flip that equation in your favour.
Wealth grows fastest for younger households, but the window is closing
Now, this next part is genuinely encouraging if you're a younger investor, or if you have kids or grandkids you're trying to help onto the ladder.
When KPMG looked at wealth growth by age group rather than generation, the 25 to 34 year old cohort recorded the biggest five-year jump of any group, with average household wealth rising 63 per cent from $340,000 in 2019-20 to $550,000 in 2024-25.
Rawnsley explains that it was largely the ultra-low interest rates of 2020 and 2021 that enabled a wave of young Australians to enter the market at a time when borrowing costs made ownership genuinely achievable.
He also makes the point that with interest rates now sitting well above those pandemic lows, that particular entry window has firmly closed for anyone trying to replicate it today.
The 45-54 and 55-64 age brackets also posted strong growth, up around 55 per cent and just under 50 per cent respectively, largely on the back of rising property and share values.
Households aged 65 and over grew more slowly, at 43 per cent, which makes sense given that many in that group are now drawing down assets rather than accumulating them.
Even with these gains, the gaps between age groups remain stark. Households aged 55-64 hold more than double the wealth of those aged 35-44, and roughly ten times the wealth of households headed by someone in their mid twenties to mid thirties.
Property really is the engine, and here's the age breakdown that proves it
The data by age group tells an even richer story about how property wealth compounds across a working life.
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Table 2: Household wealth by asset class by age group, 2024-25
| Age Group | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ |
| Dwellings & Land | $575,000 | $1,052,000 | $1,443,000 | $1,529,000 | $1,192,000 |
| Cash & Deposit | $100,000 | $118,000 | $188,000 | $217,000 | $216,000 |
| Shares | $40,000 | $68,000 | $278,000 | $174,000 | $186,000 |
| Super & Insurance Reserves | $151,000 | $289,000 | $509,000 | $756,000 | $458,000 |
| Other Assets | $33,000 | $75,000 | $123,000 | $149,000 | $116,000 |
| Loans | -$346,000 | -$531,000 | -$492,000 | -$318,000 | -$78,000 |
| Net Worth | $553,000 | $1,071,000 | $2,049,000 | $2,507,000 | $2,090,000 |
Source: KPMG analysis of ABS National Accounts and Household Income and Wealth Survey data, January 2026.
Households aged 45-54 have the most concentrated property wealth of any age group, peaking at $1.443 million, and they're also nicely diversified with $278,000 in shares and $509,000 in super.
That combination reflects a lifetime of consistent super contributions, share market exposure, and buying property back when prices were considerably more forgiving than they are today.
The 55-64 bracket actually holds the highest overall net worth of any age group at $2.507 million, driven by $1.529 million in property and $756,000 in superannuation.
This is the sweet spot in the wealth building journey, where decades of capital growth and debt reduction converge just before retirement begins drawing those assets down.
Rawnsley also flags that younger Australians who manage to get into the property market are seeing strong growth, but those under 30 who remain locked out face a genuinely tougher accumulation task than any generation before them.
His suggestion is that this may push more young Australians toward share portfolios as a more accessible alternative when property feels out of reach.
And while I think that's a sensible hedge for those who are still saving a deposit, it shouldn't be seen as a replacement for property ownership once it becomes achievable, because nothing in this data suggests shares alone are closing the wealth gap the way property has for every generation before this one.
Superannuation is quietly becoming the next big story
One thread running through this whole KPMG report is the increasing power of superannuation.
The 65+ age group holds an average of $458,000 in super, while the 55-64 group holds $756,000, the highest of any cohort.
Compare that to the $151,000 held by those aged 25-34 and the $289,000 held by those aged 35-44, and you can see how much room younger Australians still have to grow that balance.
Rawnsley makes an important point here. Younger generations will build their super from a far higher base than their parents did, which means the eventual balances they retire with should dwarf what today's retirees are working with.
KPMG's Asset Wealth Management Sector leader, Robyn Annett, adds that the entire pattern of contributions and withdrawals for younger Australians is likely to look completely different from what we've seen in previous generations, with real implications for how the superannuation industry manages fund flows and designs products in the decades ahead.
What this means for your strategy
It's no real surprise that this report confirms the core argument I've made for years, which is that long-term capital growth in quality property remains the most powerful wealth building tool available to Australian households, and it works best when it's given decades rather than years to compound.
What this data adds is a twist around timing and generational behaviour.
Baby Boomers are now living proof of what the back end of a successful property journey looks like, converting decades of capital growth into cash flow and liquid assets to fund retirement and support the next generation.
Gen X is proof of what the middle years look like, holding the most concentrated property wealth of any cohort while still actively growing their share and super positions.
And Millennials, frustrating as their current numbers might look, are proof of how early every wealth journey feels top heavy with debt before growth does its work.
The lesson for younger investors and their families isn't to panic about being behind. It's to recognise that the fundamentals that built every generation's wealth before yours are still available today, even if the entry price and interest-rate environment look different from 2021.
This is precisely why we built strategies for our clients at Metropole around a strategic, multi-property planning process rather than a single transaction.
Building intergenerational wealth isn't about timing your entry perfectly or chasing whichever asset class had the best five years. It's about assembling a small number of investment grade properties, holding them through cycles, and letting decades of compounding capital growth do the heavy lifting that no amount of cash flow ever could.
If you'd like to see where your own household sits against these generational benchmarks, and more importantly, build a plan to close any gap, our team at Metropole would be glad to talk it through in a Wealth Discovery Session. Click here now to organise a time to have a chat with one of our wealth strategists.
