Millionaire to Millennials: Your avocado toast addiction is costing you a house

William Cummings | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Avocado prices have doubled in the last year The world's avocado supply has been spread super thin lately—and prices are soaring as a result.



Housing prices are the pits as far as most young people are concerned, but an Australian multi-millionaire has the answer for those first-time buyers out there: Put down the avocados.

"When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn't buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each," real estate mogul Tim Gurner told the Australian 60 Minutes, according to 9 News Australia.

Gurner, said young people's expectations are simply too high.

"They want to eat out every day, they want to travel to Europe every year," he said. "The people that own homes today worked very, very hard for it (and) saved every dollar, did everything they could to get up the property investment ladder."

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Gurner, who at age 35 would himself be considered a Millennial according to most definitions, also said young people's expectations are fueled by what they see in popular culture.

"This generation is watching the Kardashians and thinking that's normal — thinking owning a Bentley is normal," said Gurner, whose own Instagram account is flooded with images of scantily-clad models, yachts, helicopters and popping champagne bottles:

There are several problems with Gurner's analysis, however.

To begin with, it does not take into account the fact that wages have stagnated for decades, while home prices have skyrocketed in most major metropolitan areas. Also, young people in the U.S. today are burdened by record levels of student loan debt, obviously impacting their ability to spend on a mortgage.

According to Zillow, the median price of homes currently listed in the U.S. is $245,000, which would mean $49,000 for a 20% down payment. That means someone who had a $19 per day avocado habit, very day of the year — keeping in mind an avocado costs around $2 in most stores right now — would have to refrain from the super food for seven years to put together that down payment.

Gurner's criticisms of young people's spending habits did not go over well on social media.

@DrAndrewThaler At this point it might be cheaper just to build a house out of avocado toast. — Sue Ishaq (@DrSueIshaq) May 16, 2017

As someone who spends $2000 a month on avocado toast, this article hit home https://t.co/FyQKWIbU9Y — Nate Scott (@aNateScott) May 15, 2017

@TIME Dear Idiot,



Generational trends like those quoted here aren't due to the popularity of avocado toast.



Sincerely,

Home-Owning Millennial pic.twitter.com/VaCsoPjqWF — Dr. M to the J, Ph.D (@DrM2theJ) May 15, 2017

Help balance my budget! I need to buy a house :(

Internet: 100$

Utilities: 60$

Avocado toast: 150K$

Groceries: 200$ https://t.co/s57kMsfCTH — Charlie Maas (@Live_Maas_) May 15, 2017

Waiting for some 1980s NBA player to explain that the Wizards lost Game 7 because of avocado toast and phones — Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) May 16, 2017

Confession: I bought a house & ate avocado toast.



Don't take financial advice from some boomer goomer who can't figure out how to do both — Andrew Thaler (@DrAndrewThaler) May 16, 2017

Millienal "The Graduate":

"I have just two words for you. Are you listening?"

"Yes, sir."

"Avocado Toast." — (((Ty Austin))) (@TyLAustin) May 16, 2017

BREAKING NEWS: #DonaldTrump Revealed Classified Recipe For #avocadotoast to Russian Ambassador — JLincolnHallowellJr (@JLHallowell) May 16, 2017

Poor people don't eat avocado toast. Don't even. — Becky Bourgeois (@BlackKhaleesi) May 16, 2017

Wages have not even tried to keep up. In metro areas, home ownership is for those with inherited wealth. Avocado toast won't make the diff. — Robin Nelson (@robingnelson) May 16, 2017

All I want is to own a home, eat delicious avocado toast, and have a POTUS that doesn't share state secrets. Clearly I'm asking WAY too much — Alyse Conn-Powers (@aconnpowers) May 16, 2017

i'm dating someone much older than me, gonna make him avocado toast & ask him to buy me a house in exchange — slacker genius (@harmonicait) May 16, 2017

In conclusion, you can pry my avocado toast from my cold dead hands when you find my corpse in a rental. Wrap me in millennial pink. — Katie Karlson (@KatieAKarlson) May 16, 2017

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