Australia’s land value has gone through the roof. Where does that leave young people who want to buy a home? | Greg Jericho

The capital gains tax discount helps real estate investors become even wealthier. It’s time to give the young a slice of ‘the Australian dream’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast In Australia this is very much the case – and even more so in the past 25 years. Last week the Bureau of Statistics released the December 2025 national accounts figures for finance and wealth. These get less attention than the other national accounts, which have the GDP figures, but given they contain the breakdown of household wealth they are vital to understanding why younger Australians especially feel the economy is not working for them. In 2025, total Australian household wealth increased by $1,751bn – 49% of that, or $859.8bn, came from land. The crucial thing to remember is that we are talking land, not houses. The great Australian dream might be to own a home, but really it is the land on which your home is built that is of real value. Back in the 1980s, the value of land held by households was about 1.3 times that of the value of the dwellings; now it is three times that value: If the graph does not display c