‘What's the point?': Young Aussie's rant exposes housing crisis

News.com.au

2 days ago

A young Australian has gone viral after asking a question that exposes a major problem when it comes to financial security and home ownership in this country.
Larissa Kay has amassed more than 700,000 views on TikTok in a clip where she asks 'What's the point?', revealing she fears she'll never be able to own a home and doesn't know what to do when it comes to planning her future.
In the video, the fed-up 28-year-old woman, living in NSW, explained that she felt disillusioned with society because she's moved to a regional area and is living in a studio, but still can't get ahead.
And she argued that many other Aussies in their 20s or 30s would likely be in a similar situation unless they were 'being given things by your parents'.
Ms Kay said she had become disillusioned, previously thinking that if she went to university, got a degree, and then snagged a good job, she'd be able to afford a nice house by now, a holiday once a year, and be seriously considering having children.
Instead, she's renting, not thinking about having children, and certainly not nearing the purchase of a home.
'That is not happening and you're just kind of like, what is the actual point of anything?' she said.
'I thought by now I might have a three-bedroom house, maybe like be thinking about kids, maybe be successful in my career.
'I moved regional to save money but there's no jobs out here. It has made me reassess my whole life? What am I doing? Should I just go travelling?
'I'm a pretty A-type person, I like to plan everything, but I'm just kind of feeling like f**k it, should I just do what makes me happy?'
Speaking to news.com.au, Ms Kay explained that she studied for five years and is a qualified allied health professional, but it hasn't worked out.
'It didn't really pay off for me in terms of pay and working conditions,' she said.
'I originally went into it because I was told it was in high demand, which it was/is - but professionals like healthcare, teaching, etc seem to be the ones getting left behind.'
She's now started Luupa, a pet-sitting service that matches owners with pet sitters, but she's still nowhere close to homeownership.
Even though her career hasn't so far worked out as planned, the 28-year-old argued that she thought it didn't used to be this hard to get ahead in Australia.
'My parents worked fairly normal jobs and owned two homes in decent areas with a pool,' she said.
'Whereas myself and a lot of my peers need a full time job with a university degree, plus a side hustle or two to make ends meet, and that still decent guarantee a home, or a decent rental.
'I fear every day I'll never have a house of my own - when you don't have the option of living with parents or having them help you - it's really scary.'
Ms Kay explained that housing is 'definitely the biggest expense' even though she and her partner live somewhere small.
'We live in a small studio, which we are grateful for and is comfortable, but we do this because we want to have a life outside of just working to pay rent or save for a home,' she explained.
'If we were to move to a bigger house, our rent would likely triple which is just completely unaffordable for us. So that is really hard.'
Housing isn't the only weekly expense that Ms Kay frets about. In fact, she feels like everything is too expensive.
'Basic things like fuel and groceries - we used to be able to budget $100 a week as a couple and that's more than doubled,' she said.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has found that younger people are struggling to get into the housing market at the rate as previous generations.
About half of Millennials are homeowners - 55 per cent - whereas 66 per cent of Baby Boomers were homeowners at the same age.
That shouldn't be a surprise because in 1984 the average Australian could buy a home that cost 3.3 times their annual income.
But in 2025, the average person faces house prices 10 times their annual salary.
Even if young people manage to get onto the property ladder that doesn't mean they're set either.
Financial comparison website Finder has found that mortgage holders are drowning in debt, with 42 per cent of homeowners in 2024 admitting they were struggling with their repayments.
Over 13 per cent admitted they'd missed repayments in the last six months.
Ms Kay's rant hit a raw nerve with other young Australians who were quick to commiserate with her.
'I'm worried about my housing prospects and I'm a professional who's in a relationship with another professional, and we have no kids,' one shared.
'I'm 29. In a 3-person share house. Good paying full time job. But haven't managed to save anything in the last 5 years,' one admitted.
'It feels like we've been sold out and lied to,' another said.
'I've just accepted I'll never own a house, live in share houses and make minimum wage my whole life even though I have a university degree,' one shared.
'If you don't have family support it's becoming impossible to just set yourself up,' someone argued.
'Two incomes of $120-150k a year is the minimum required to live in Australia. You need to find a career that can get you to that in the future, or you're cooked,' another said.