That\u2019s certainly good news for home owners, but it paints a dire picture for those who haven\u2019t yet got a foot on the property ladder. It\u2019s no secret that housing affordability is one of the biggest financial challenges facing millions of Australians and that the age of people buying their first home buyers is rising.<\/p>\n
There is a domino effect of delayed entry into homeownership \u2013 as much as two decades\u2019 worth of income is going towards rent, not asset accumulation. In that sense, the UBS report simply highlights what many of us already know to be true, which is that if you want to get ahead in Australia, you need to own property.<\/p>\n
Even the good news of rising home values is not entirely good, which conveniently brings me to the third risk.<\/p>\n
Currently, only the Swiss and Swedes carry more debt than Australians, and we also have a distinct lack of diversity when it comes to our wealth. As the UBS report noted, \u201cAustralia stands out for its real estate that makes up almost 53 per cent of the country\u2019s personal wealth, ahead of the United Kingdom and far ahead of other markets.\u201d According to Finder\u2019s 2024 Wealth Building report, that figure climbed to 74 per cent<\/a> of all of Australia\u2019s household net worth when superannuation was added into the mix.<\/p>\n Two decades\u2019 worth of income is going towards rent, not\u00a0 asset accumulation.Credit: Peter Rae<\/p>\n The UBS report also helpfully pointed out that, \u201cThe proportion of wealth held in cash and deposits is the lowest in Australia at just above 10 per cent, only half as much as in Switzerland, Singapore and the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n The significance of Australians carrying some of the world\u2019s highest debt is that if anything adverse happens to our housing market or to the broader global economy, in which much of our super is invested, three in four Australians would be at serious risk of losing a lot of money.<\/p>\n As the government notes via MoneySmart<\/a>, financial diversification over asset classes, such as property, shares, savings, superannuation and managed funds, greatly lowers financial risk if one asset class drops in value.<\/p>\n Loading<\/p>\n For some reason, Australians aren\u2019t very good at this. We tend to stick to what we know \u2013 property and superannuation \u2013 and sit back to watch the wealth accumulate.<\/p>\n There are very good reasons for us having done this for so long. Yet there is an elephant in the global room of diversified wealth \u2013 and while we keep doing the same, the elephant of our associated risk just gets bigger.<\/p>\n Victoria Devine is an award-winning retired financial adviser, bestselling author and host of Australia\u2019s No.1 finance podcast, She\u2019s on the Money<\/a>. She is also founder and director of Zella Money.<\/p>\n Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers\u2019 decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ebcc9d6040c65d364d332df54aad6d4f9c455069.jpeg\")
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