‘Financial freedom’: Young tradie turns to ETFs as housing market locks out buyers

When 29-year-old carpenter Callum Cook looks at Australia’s housing market, he doesn’t see a first home.He sees a mountain that keeps getting steeper, with soaring prices and another rate rise pushing him to build wealth through investing before even thinking about a deposit.Like a growing number of young Australians, Mr Cook has turned away from the traditional path of scraping together a house deposit as his first major financial goal.Instead, he is pouring money into Exchange-Traded Funds, convinced it offers a better shot at building long-term security in a market that feels increasingly out of reach – and he’s not wrong.MORE NEWSLandlord says renter can’t have baby over request ‘Can cost thousands’: Tradie warns of hidden threatPortelli returns to Aus to launch discount petrol stationThe Reserve Bank lifted interest rates by another 0.25 percentage points in September, taking the cash rate target to 4.6 per cent from 4.35 per cent – the highest level in 15 years.The increase will hit borrowers with large mortgages, but it is also another blow for first homebuyers trying to get a foothold in the market.At 29, Callum Cook isn’t focused on scraping together a house deposit. Inste...