Rent? Stay home with the parents? Board somewhere?

I mentioned in Tuesday's blog that in 1970 the average house cost 5.8 times the average salary, and that in 2010 that average house costs 9.3 times the average salary, meaning that nowadays you really do need the double-income lifestyle to maintain a mortgage.

So I was interested in a Bankwest "First Time Home Buyer Report" released yesterday which indicated that first home-buyers need about 4 ½ years to save for an average house deposit. 

According to the research, a first time buyer couple needs to raise an $85,800 deposit to purchase the median house, and $76,900 to buy a median unit, equating to a savings time of 4 ½ years and 4 years respectively.