A national survey commissioned by industry super fund-owned bank ME has found that more and more millennials are sacrificing their wedding in favour of buying their first home.
In the survey of 2,036 Australians, almost one quarter (23%) millennials revealed they’ve delayed or downsized their nuptials in favour of buying a home.
A further 21% admitted they have delayed or downsized their honeymoon and 24% decided to delay or have fewer children to commit to a mortgage.
The survey also revealed that more and more couples now ask guests for a monetary contribution towards their house deposit instead of traditional gifts.
However, there are more and more couples buying property together outside of marriage. According to the survey, around 37% of Australian couples were not married when they purchased their first home, a figure that ME says coincides with the general rise of defacto couples living together.
ME head of home loans,
Patrick Nolan, said with house prices more than doubling in the past 15 years, it’s not surprising couples are questioning the value of an extravagant wedding.
“What we’ve seen, however, is that with a little lateral thinking and some sensible saving and budgeting, couples are finding increasingly savvy ways to save for their house deposit and eat their wedding cake too.”
