Millennials are not all the frivolous, avocado-smash-buyers they’re made out to be – meet the young Australians shaking off the stereotype and leaving their mark on the property market.

Edward Dilleen, 26, owns 13 properties

Sydney-based property investor and buyers advocate Edward Dilleen started working at McDonalds at 16 and began saving straight away to secure a house deposit.

He bought his first property at 18 – a $138,000 two-bedroom apartment on the NSW Central Coast – and now owns 13 properties with an ultimate goal to own 100.

“I grew up in western Sydney in housing commissions. Mum was always struggling to put food on the table… so I wanted to own a property as soon as I could. It was really a way to better my family’s situation,” Dilleen says.

“I started to save from a very young age. I was frugal. Of course there was short-term pain but the long-term gain was worth it.”

Despite living in Sydney his whole life, Dilleen chose to buy an hour north where it was more affordable. His first property is now worth about $350,000 and he has steadily built his portfolio off the back of his accumulated equity.

“If I were to start over again, my strategy would be the same – look for those affordable areas, relatively close to capital cities, and ensure there is still demand to live there. For example, Geelong, Wollongong and Newcastle. Just ensure they have a really high rental return,” he advises.

“Now my target area is around the Gold Coast and outer Brisbane… there is a lot of growth, you can pick up a townhouse in Brisbane for under $200,000 and rent it out at $300 a week. So the potential there is astronomical.”

Dilleen says none of his properties are negatively geared, which is a path he’d suggest for all young investors. He also says it’s essential to take emotion out of the decision and treat it as a business rather than buying your ‘dream home’.

“I want to hit 20 properties soon but my future goal is to own 100,” he says. “Once you start building up your base of 20 to 30 properties you have the capacity to invest in bigger projects, such as a block of land that you can whack 20 townhouses on.

“You could get up to 100 properties with just 15 transactions.

“The media makes out our generation are such money wasters but it’s a wild generalisation. Everyone is different and there are plenty of people out there like me.”

Lauren Robinson, 34, owns three properties

Moving into a share house at 17, paying $100 while working full-time and studying part-time, Lauren Robinson was able to save enough to buy her first property at 22 by “living on a shoestring budget” and putting aside half her wage.

She now owns three – two residential and one commercial – as well as a property management business in Brisbane.

“I bought all three on my own. I think a lot of people out there still have the mentality that they need to wait until they are married or in a relationship before they buy a property,” Robinson says.

“But I am proof that young single people can most certainly buy property.

“Is it trickier now? I don’t think so. Especially the apartment market in a place like Brisbane. I paid $400,000 for my first property, which has now nearly doubled, and you can still pick up properties for $400,000.

“Our demographic are perhaps keener to live in big cities, close to the action, and it’s certainly not as affordable.”

Jessica Hew, 29, saving for first home

A nurse in Sydney’s northern beaches, Jessica Hew and her partner moved in with her parents to save for a deposit while they look for a property nearby.

“Before that I was paying $570 a week on rent, which was pretty devastating,” she says.

“I don’t feel pressure on society to buy a house but probably from my friends. They’re all starting to buy property and you don’t want to be the last one left.

“I didn’t have a savings plan. I had no idea what percentage of my income should go into saving. Moving in with Mum made it easy to not cut out everything.”

The statistics

A report commissioned by ING reveals more than a third of milliennials are saving to buy a home in the next three years, preferring a traditional house over inner-city apartment living.

ING’s Millennial Homeownership Report, released in May – which surveyed 1000 Australians aged between 22 and 37 – found 64% preferred to plan ahead than indulge in spontaneous purchases, with 38% actively saving for a house deposit.

Despite the ‘smashed avocado’ stigma, 57% of millennials said they’re cutting back on eating out and other luxuries to get into the property market.

They’re also happy to look outside inner-city urban areas with 60% willing to increase their daily commute time or invest in a home further out.

Only 7% of respondents would consider buying a one-bedroom apartment, with more than 40% of millennials preferring a house with three bedrooms or more.

ING Australia’s Head of Retail Banking, Melanie Evans says the research shows millennials are “living for today, but also planning for tomorrow”.

“Millennials are often unfairly pictured as only living in the here and now, but they want what generations before them wanted; the security and financial stability owning a home offers,” Evans says.

“Their homeownership aspirations are also rooted in traditional values like opting for a family home, being near green areas and family.

“The challenge is not in wanting a home, but how they go about getting it. While 88% of millennials want to own a home to give them a sense of security about the future – they’re just not sure how much they need to save to get a foot on the property ladder.

“Millennials are thinking about their future… However it’s evident that they need help on how to go about saving for a deposit with many unaware of how much they need to save,” she says.