Read that again. Almost two decades to save enough to get a rung on the housing ladder. If you leave school at 18 and enter your first job, you could own your first home by the time you're 35.

Once you are fortunate enough to get your hands on a mortgage, it'll swallow 63 per cent of your monthly income if you have kids by then, good luck eating and clothing yourself. Sadly, these numbers don't feel all that surprising.

Every day there is another tale of someone finding it impossible to buy a house or another suburb record broken as property sells for millions. We know there is a rental crisis. Having a job, a list of solid references and a steady income is no guarantee of being able to find somewhere to live.

So why should we be shocked that it is near impossible to save for a deposit like Irvianty Parkes? This editorial doesn't end with a pithy solution to the problem. It won't even say that voting for a particular party in the upcoming federal election will help. We're not sure we've seen any policies that go even partway to addressing the problem.

Instead, what we'll say is we see you. We see how hard it is to keep a roof over your head or find one in the first place. We agree it is wrong and unfair, and we'll keep telling the story.

- Gayle Tomlinson

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