Jack and Chris have revealed two very different sides of the property dream. (Source: Instagram/SBS)
The "haves and have nots" have painted two very different pictures of Australia's housing crisis. Millennial property investor Jack Henderson said it's never been easier to buy a property "with all the incentives out there", denying the existence of a cost-of-living crisis.
He made the claim on SBS Insight as he sat next to Chris Booy who works 60-70 hour weeks juggling three different jobs. The 35-year-old renter said he has been "chasing his tail" as no matter how much he saves, price rises keep him from entering the property market.
Henderson, who bought the first of his 15 properties when he was 18, said there was a "cost-of-spending crisis".
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"A lot of people want everything right now," he said.
"It's very easy to spend money with everything at our fingertips... we also want our cake [and] we want to eat it too.
"So I think everyone can do their bit to try and earn more money and try and cut what they spend but to say that there's a cost of living crisis, I think it's a little bit over the top."
Henderson admitted times had been tough for some, but that there was no shortage of ways to help first-home buyers.
"The only thing easier than that would be giving you a house for free," the property investor said.
Booy has three jobs, one in insurance, one in food delivery, and the other in social media, and he said he still can't afford to buy his own home.
"Ever since I was a kid, I was told, if you get a job, you work hard, you get a house," he said.
Chris Booy has been working three jobs but still can't afford to buy a home. (Source: SBS)
"My dad was 30 when he settled down and got his first house. My grandfather was 25. I'm at 35 right now, and I can't get in."
He said his long work weeks were "killing him" as he had virtually no time to himself.
"I felt like the afterburners were on, and that was only after two years, and I'm still holding down three jobs right now, still doing the same thing, throwing what I can at it to try and get through this cost of living crisis," he added.
Economist Evan Lucas backed Booy and refuted Henderson's claim, noting "at no point in history have you had to work harder" to save up that 5 per cent deposit to buy a home.
He claimed property prices have spiralled so far out of control that many are forced to buy in areas far away from their desired location.
How hard is it to buy a home now vs generations before?
According to Finder data, the average loan amount to buy a home in 1984 was $42,277, which is $154,641 today.
However, in 2025, the average loan amount has skyrocketed to $642,121.
That loan from four decades ago was just over twice a person's annual income.
Interest rates were at 11 per cent in 1984, compared to 6.22 per cent per cent in 2025, but with a much smaller principal amount, repayments don't reflect that interest rate disparity.
All up, homeowners in 1984 were spending $418 per month on their mortgage (which works out to be $1,529 today), while people in 2025 pay $3,962 per month.
What cost of living crisis?
Despite all the headlines highlighting people like Booy and their struggles, Henderson thinks people could tighten their belts a bit more.
He pointed out that there ere new-looking cars on the road and new phones in peoples' hands, highlighting that many have a long way to go until they were at their financial limit.
Henderson is not alone in this belief.
Mortgage broker Jess Phillips told Yahoo Finance that despite what everyone is saying about the cost-of-living crisis, many of her clients aren't "struggling".
"I see their bank statements and, I mean, someone who's spending $500 a month on takeaway food doesn't seem like they're in a crisis to me,” she said. “Or $200 a month on subscription TV and all those types of things. I see a lot of it all the time.”
Phillips said these clients aren't super wealthy either, with many having an "average salary” between $60,000 to $80,000.
Mortgage broker Jess Phillips is one of several experts who are questioning just how bad the cost-of-living crisis really is. (Source: TikTok/Getty)
Economic expert Jakob Madsen, from the University of Western Australia, also believed that most Aussies are still in jobs and doing well.
"During the Great Depression, real wages fell by more than 30 per cent in Australia. In Italy, real wages fell to 75 per cent over the period 1450-1900. During WWII, real wages plummeted in most countries," the economist said.
"Seen from this perspective, calling it a cost-of-living crisis is a stretch."
It depends on who you ask
We've asked Yahoo Finance readers how they've been faring in the tough economic conditions and this is what they've said over several polls:
68 per cent said they're spending less because of the economic crisis
