Housing inflation - Experience of the past decade. 6/12

Over the past decade, I think one of the biggest shifts in Australia hasn't just been financial. It's been emotional.

For a long time, home ownership in Australia felt achievable. Difficult at times, but broadly attainable for ordinary families willing to work hard, save consistently, and plan ahead.

Today, for many younger Australians, it feels very different. And I don't think that feeling comes from entitlement. It comes from being caught in a financial rip, and despite swimming as hard as ever seeing prices continue to rise faster than wages.

When you look at long-term housing charts in Australia — especially compared against wages or broader inflation measures — the scale of the shift becomes difficult to ignore. Housing hasn't just become more expensive. It has increasingly behaved like a financial asset competing against expanding money supply, credit growth, tax incentives, and investor demand over decades. Meanwhile wages, although rising nominally, simply haven't kept pace with many key assets.

That gap matters enormously — especially for younger families trying to buy a first home, raise children, plan for education, or build long-term financial security.

And I think this is where many Australians are beginning to feel something important: the traditional path no longer feels as predictable as it once did.

Importantly, I don't say that as criticism of previous generations, governments, or even investors themselves. Most people simply respond rationally to the system and incentives in front of them. That's partly why the recent Federal Budget discussion around capital gains tax changes has been so interesting to watch.

For many years, Australia's tax system strongly rewarded asset ownership — particularly property — through mechanisms like the 50% capital gains tax discount and negative gearing. The recent proposed changes begin shifting some of those incentives, which will result in the housing market changing.

Whether people agree or disagree with the policy direction, the bigger takeaway is this: even governments are increasingly acknowledging that long-term asset inflation and intergenerational affordability are becoming serious structural issues. And I suspect many families already understood that long before politicians started debating it publicly.

You can feel it in ordinary conversations now. Parents wondering whether their children will ever own property. Young couples delaying having children because housing feels unstable. People earning good incomes who still feel permanently behind.

It's less like a sudden storm and more like standing in the ocean during a rising tide. At first, the water only reaches your ankles. Then your knees. Then one day you realise the environment itself has changed around you.

This is where many people begin exploring alternatives. Not radical alternatives. Not "all in" decisions. Just additional ways to protect long-term purchasing power.

It's also why I believe Bitcoin increasingly resonates with younger generations. Not because they're reckless. Not because they hate the system. But because many of them instinctively understand scarcity. They've grown up in a world where housing became harder to access, saving became less effective, and asset prices consistently moved faster than wages. So naturally, they become curious about systems with fixed supply and long-term predictability.

Again, this isn't financial advice, and I'm certainly not suggesting Bitcoin replaces traditional investing, housing, or sensible financial planning. But more Australians are beginning to ask a very reasonable question:

"How do I preserve purchasing power over the next twenty years?"

And importantly, many are discovering they don't need to make dramatic changes to begin learning. Sometimes it starts with $10 a week, $25 a week, or simply paying attention differently. That mindset shift matters more than most people realise — because once you understand the environment clearly, you stop expecting calm water while swimming in a rising tide. And you start thinking more carefully about how to navigate it long term.

In the next post, I want to talk about a phrase I use more and more often these days: Bitcoin as savings technology.

Because I think that framing is far more useful — and far more responsible — than treating it purely as speculation.

Summery: Housing affordability is one of the clearest signals that long-term purchasing power matters.

The important thing isn't reacting emotionally — it's understanding the environment clearly enough to plan ahead.