Tom Panos warns of worrying trend he observed while holding auctions across Australia

Property expert Tom Panos has spoken out about a worrying trend he has observed while holding auctions across Australia.

“When I go to an auction and see someone under 30, unless I see a mother and father nearby, I think to myself, ‘They don’t have a chance,’” he told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.

“And it’s really sad to see that some of the people who are now buying property under 30 are people who are on OnlyFans.

“It’s reached the stage where, if you’re 18 years old, it takes 20 years to get a deposit on a home; for a house that is forty years.’

Mr Panos added that the average age of Australians taking out a home loan is now 32, up from 23 in 2009.

Property auctioneer and guru Tom Panos (pictured) said young Aussies have ‘no chance’ of buying a property unless financed by their parents or ‘on OnlyFans’

Mr Panos said that if he sees anyone under the age of 30 not flanked by their parents, he immediately loses confidence that they will get the winning bid (stock image)

Mr Panos said that if he sees anyone under the age of 30 not flanked by their parents, he immediately loses confidence that they will get the winning bid (stock image)

“I remember in my day dreaming that you would live to be 60-65 and that your house would be paid off. That was the average Australian’s dream,” Panos said.

“Nowadays the dream is, ‘I’m going to have to get to that age to actually make a down payment,’ so you understand why people are so discouraged and give up.”

Parents who helped their children with deposits also affected their own retirement savings, Mr. Panos explained.

“I look at people who are, let’s say, 60-65. As they reach age 80 to 90, handing out lump sums of $100,000 to $200,000 changes the retirement trajectory for most people.”

Mr Panos said rising house prices were driving essential workers out of Australia’s major cities.

He added that the average age of Australians getting a home loan was now 32, up from 23 in 2009 (stock image)

He added that the average age of Australians getting a home loan was now 32, up from 23 in 2009 (stock image)

“I know teachers and nurses who can’t rent or buy a house,” he said.

‘There is no way back when a society says we can no longer help a teacher or a nurse, there is no way back for society.

“It goes against the fabric of Australian society.”

He said the main driver of rising house prices was rising immigration.

“Immigration is very good, immigration helps a country move forward and it is good for security,” Panos said.

‘Still, I think [Australia should be] by hitting the pause button and saying, “Hey, if we only have 1,000 houses, why are we letting 1,500 people in?”

“So I think the simple solution is a pause or a reduction until we figure out that housing issue or we make progress on that.”

According to Treasury documents, a net 1.38 million more migrants are expected to move to Australia over the next five years.

The average house price increases in Australian capitals over the past year

SYDNEY: Up 10.7 percent to $1,414,229

MELBOURNE: Up 3.3 percent to $935,049

BRISBANE: Up 15.9 percent to $909,988

PERTH: Up 20 percent to $735,276

ADELAIDE: Up 13.2 percent to $785,971

HOBART: An increase of 0.9 percent to $692,951

DARWIN: An increase of 0.4 percent to $573,498

CANBERRA: Up 2.5 percent to $964,136

Source: CoreLogic data on average house prices in the year to March 2024