There are two opposing storylines circulating in news media about Australian real estate ownership. One storyline, repeated regularly by media, is that the Great Australian Dream is dead and that young Australian adults can no longer afford to buy homes. The other one, revealed whenever the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases official data on real estate finance, tends to suggest that the dream is very much alive – and indeed thriving.

The latest stats from the ABS show we are currently seeing growing numbers of people buying homes as first-home buyers, other types of owner-occupier buyers and investors. Hotspotting analysis of sales volumes also show a significant rise in buying activity in the June Quarter.

Lending for the purchase of homes rose 19% in June, compared to a year earlier. Lending to owner-occupier buyers was up 13% compared to a year earlier, with an even larger increase in loans to investors. There was also a rise in lending to first-home buyers, though not as large an increase. It should be fairly self-evident that lending levels and sales volumes would not be rising, including for first-home buyers, if it was true that no one could afford to buy any more. We have highly active property markets in most parts of Australia, and buyers of all kinds are active.

So, next time you see one of those shallow media headlines declaring that the dream is dead and that young Australians are priced out of the market, don’t believe it.