Mass Immigration Is Killing the Australian Dream for Young Aussies! By James Reed

Young Australians are being robbed of the great Australian dream, owning a home, because of one thing: mass immigration. The Macrobusiness article by Leith van Onselen lays it out plain as day: a flood of nearly one million migrants since 2022 has crashed into a housing market already stretched to breaking point, driving rents up 50% and pushing home prices to a jaw-dropping $1 million median. With vacancy rates at a historic low of 1% and construction at its weakest in a decade, young Aussies are stuck renting overpriced shoeboxes or living with their parents, while newcomers snap up what little housing remains. Immigration isn't just a factor, it's the wrecking ball smashing the hopes of a generation. Here's why this crisis is a direct result of open borders and why it's time to slam the gates shut, and keep them shut tight!

Australia's housing crisis is a numbers game, and the numbers don't lie. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported 188,000 net permanent and long-term arrivals in Q1 2025, just shy of the 2024 peak of 195,000. That's nearly a million new residents since the Albanese government took over in 2022, with international students and graduate visa holders pouring in at record levels. Every one of these newcomers needs a place to live, but Australia's housing supply can't keep up. CoreLogic pegs rental affordability at its worst ever, with tenants forking out 32.9% of their income for a median home. Rents have surged 51% for houses and 40% for units since December 2019, per Domain.

Developer Tim Gurner, quoted in Macrobusiness, warns this crisis could last 5–15 years because of "the biggest undersupply in history with the highest demand in history." Construction is at a 10-year low, with CBRE forecasting just 50,000 apartments built annually through 2029, nowhere near the 240,000 homes needed yearly to hit the government's 1.2 million home target. Meanwhile, Australia's population has ballooned by 8.7 million (46%) this century, the fastest growth among developed nations, with one person arriving every 44 seconds. This isn't organic growth, it's a deliberate policy of mass immigration replacement, and it's crushing young Aussies.

For young Australians, the housing market is a nightmare. The median home price hit $1 million in April 2025, with a dwelling value-to-income ratio of 8.0, far above the 20-year average of 6.7. Saving a deposit takes 21–46 years, and mortgages eat up 63% of median income, per PropTrack. The Australian Homelessness Monitor 2024 reports rising homelessness, with lower-income renters facing severe stress. A renter named Cox, cited in Macrobusiness, described a $180 weekly rent hike, $10,000 a year, forcing him to work two jobs and fear homelessness for his family. He noted "dozens of people" at rental inspections, many immigrants with "plenty more money" than locals.

Young Aussies, often in lower-wage or gig jobs, can't compete with well-funded migrants, especially international students who dominate the rental market. The Albanese government's policies, lifting permanent migration to 195,000, extending student visa work rights, and clearing visa backlogs, have fuelled this surge. This is a "turbo-charged" crisis, with 518,000 migrants in 2022–23 alone making homeownership "impossible." The average first-home buyer is now in their mid-30s, up from the mid-20s two decades ago. The dream of a stable home is dead for a generation, replaced by a lifetime of renting.

The Macrobusiness article nails it: mass immigration is the engine of this crisis. Nearly one million net migrants in two years have overwhelmed a market already short on supply. Rental vacancy rates have halved from a decade average of 2% to 1% in January 2025, per SQM Research, driving rents through the roof. The Albanese government's "Big Australia" policy, boosting student visas, allowing unlimited work hours, and fast-tracking applications has turned cities like Sydney and Melbourne into pressure cookers. A Chinese government ban on online degrees is expected to bring 40,000–50,000 more students, soaking up a third of available rentals.

Labor's political calculus is clear: Indian migrants, Australia's largest group, vote 58% for Labor, per a 2022 Carnegie Endowment survey, giving them no incentive to slow the influx. But this comes at a cost to locals. Rapid population growth from immigration has placed significant pressure on housing, with no corresponding boost in construction. Unlike locals, few migrants work in construction, so the supply side stays stagnant while demand skyrockets.

Some, like ANU's Ben Phillips, argue the crisis is "overblown," claiming ABS data shows rents for existing leases rose only 19% in five years, less than CoreLogic's 50% for advertised rents. He suggests dwelling completions track population growth historically. But this is flimsy. Macrobusiness debunks it: between 1990 and 2004, population growth was slower, yet construction barely budged, proving immigration doesn't automatically fix supply. Zoning restrictions, high land costs ($7.7 trillion, 2.9 times GDP), and slow approvals choke construction, but immigration's demand surge is the immediate driver. Phillips' focus on existing leases ignores new renters, mostly young Aussies, facing the full brunt of advertised rent hikes.

Mass immigration is pricing young Aussies out of their future. Every new migrant adds to the queue, pushing up rents and prices while locals scramble. The government's 1.2 million home target is a fantasy, actual construction lags at 170,000 homes annually, per ABS data. Meanwhile, policies favouring investors and foreign buyers keep the market tilted against first-timers. House prices are up $900k in Sydney and $635k in Brisbane, driven by 3 million more immigrants. This isn't just economics, it's a betrayal of young Australians who work hard but can't get ahead.

The fix starts with one word: stop. Slash immigration to match housing capacity. Senator Michaelia Cash's call to cut permanent migration by 25% is a start, but it's not enough. Pause student visas and temporary worker programs until supply catches up. Redirect funds from visa processing to affordable housing projects. Crack down on foreign buyers and speculative investment to prioritise locals. Without these, young Aussies face a permanent crisis, as Gurner predicts, with no end for a decade or more.

Mass immigration is strangling the Australian dream. Nearly a million new arrivals since 2022 have flooded a housing market already on its knees, pushing rents up 50% and home prices to $1 million. Young Aussies can't save deposits or afford mortgages, facing a future of endless renting or homelessness. Labor's open-border policies, fuelled by political gain, values newcomers over locals. Supply issues like zoning and costs play a role, but immigration is the spark igniting this fire. It's time to cut the inflow, think Australia first, and give a generation of Aussies a fighting chance at a home and families.

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2025/05/australias-rental-crisis-is-permanent/

"Australia's rental crisis is permanent

According to Cotality (formerly CoreLogic), Australian rental affordability has never been worse, with tenants required to sacrifice a record share of their income to rent the median home.

This decline in affordability follows a circa 50% increase in asking rents since the pandemic.

Last week, leading apartment developer Tim Gurner warned that Australia's rental crisis could last another 15 years due to a lack of supply relative to the nation's strong population growth.

"Even if the government came out tomorrow and changed all the planning rules, changed all the capital and debt rules, it's not going to be fixed in three, not fixed in five, seven or 10 [years]", Gurner told The AFR.

"We have a good five to 15 years' worth of rental crisis coming where there's going to be a huge amount of pressure on supply".

"If you look at the vacancy rates, it's pretty simple, right? We have vacancy around 1% in every single state, construction supply is the lowest it's been in 10 years".

"Population growth is higher than it's ever been. So it's very simple mathematics to see that we've got the biggest undersupply in history with the highest demand in history, with population growth still growing. So it's got nothing to do with our motivations", he said.

Immigration surges again:

Gurner's comments came as the latest permanent and long-term arrivals and departures figures from the ABS suggested that net overseas migration has rebounded to near record highs.

Over the first quarter of 2025, 188,000 net permanent and long-term arrivals landed in Australia, slightly lower than last year's peak of 195,000 in the first quarter of 2024.

International student enrolments and graduate visas are also tracking at record levels.

Last week's April Labour Force release from the ABS also showed that the growth in the 15-plus civilian population accelerated over the first four months of 2025, reflecting the stronger immigration.

As a result, the March federal budget's net overseas migration forecasts look unrealistic.

Labor is incentivised to run a high immigration policy:

Labor is incentivised to maintain a high immigration policy given that Indians, who are Australia's largest migrant source, tend to vote for Labor.

A post-2022 election survey by the Carnegie Endowment showed that 58% of Indian Australians voted for Labor versus 34% for the Coalition.

Indian students and migration agents celebrated Labor's federal election victory because they know that the Albanese Labor government is a soft touch on immigration.

Therefore, don't expect the re-elected Albanese government to run a moderate, sensible immigration program, as it is against its political interests.

As Gurner noted, high immigration is disastrous for Australia's rental crisis.