Login
‘The wealth dream is over’: Buyers abandon property ambitions in droves
Australians have increasingly abandoned their property-investing, buying, or upgrading goals as an affordability squeeze and recent tax reforms make the traditional pathway less viable.
New data showed that a growing group of Australians have been stepping away from their property ownership, upsizing, or investment goals amid increasing affordability pressures and tax reforms.
A report by Vibrant Insights, which followed a survey of 4,000 Australians aged 14 to 60, explored financial sentiment, including housing, from 2024 to 2026.
According to the data, which was released before the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) rate hold last week, there has been a sharp rise in “quitters”, people who have made a conscious choice to give up on purchasing property.
It said that in 2026, 35 per cent of respondents had decided not to purchase, upgrade, or invest, compared with 30 per cent in 2025 and 25 per cent in 2024.
The two largest “quitter” cohorts were owner-occupiers, at 37 per cent, who had abandoned the idea of upsizing or upgrading, and renters, at 28 per cent.
“As cost-of-living increases and government changes come into effect, the Quitters group has increased again,” the report said.
“Quitters aren’t leaving housing – they’re leaving the wealth dream. Everyone still needs somewhere to live.”
When it came to investing, 50 per cent of Australians said they couldn’t afford an investment property, up from 42 per cent in 2024.
Meanwhile, 15 per cent said they were not considering investing on principle, whether for ethical, financial, or lifestyle reasons, up from 11 per cent two years ago.
The results showed that two-thirds of people now say they couldn’t afford an investment property for any reason, a 42 per cent increase from two years ago.
The largest group in the survey were the “innovators” – those who had a desire to get on the property ladder as quickly as possible and by any means, whether through different forms of access to finance or ownership models.
The data showed the cohort had dropped slightly to 41 per cent from 44 per cent in 2025, but was up from 37 per cent in 2024.
“Innovators remain a sizeable cohort, but avenues are becoming limited (particularly given changes to shares),” the report said.
The smallest group, the “grinders”, were those who were seeking to purchase and pay off property the traditional way, by saving up for a deposit and securing a mortgage.
The number has declined sharply over two years, from 38 per cent in 2024 to 24 per cent in 2026.
“The traditional “Grinders” cohort has continued to fall. Creating wealth through the traditional route of mortgages is no longer seen as viable,” the report said.
The data came as the national property market has been seeing a major slowdown, with auction clearance rates hitting their lowest since early 2020.
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Smart Property Investment a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Smart Property Investment as a preferred news source.