Sure the 'have it all now' crowd is out there but I know plenty of younger people who are doing it tough and who have bought modest places and furnished them with relos hand-me-downs and St Vinnies finest. One issue they face is that the cheaper places are out in the boondocks and they spend too much on fuel, money they'd sooner put on the mortgage. Obviously Wollongong's boondocks aren't as remote as Sydney's but some are still traveling 40km to work.
I'm not up on this but what is the choice before new home buyers. From what I can see of display villages you have a choice between over-the-top and too-far-over-the-top. Can you even buy a 10-12 square 3-bedroom place like many of us grew up in?
Sydney, of course, is a basket case. How anyone survives up there is beyond me. Interesting commentary on Sydney housing here
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-1...ricket/6538204 I'm very sad for young kids in inner cities. I never quite made a hundred in the backyard at mum's but I had a lot of fun trying.