Increasing amount of Australian first-home buyers are buying a home before getting married.
Australian couples are ditching marriage plans in favour of mortgages as rising home prices and the cost of living make it tougher to break into the property market.
New research has revealed the number of home loans taken out by de facto couples across the nation has jumped a whopping 80 per cent since 2015.
And with Aussie Home Loans analysis showing the average $47,200 wedding cost in Victoria equates to as much as 53 per cent of a median-priced house deposit in some suburbs, it’s no wonder many first-home buyers are instead vowing until debt do us part.
RELATED: Aus wedding registries set to fund home deposits as property prices skyrocket
Melbourne first-home buyers’ plan to pay off their house within six years
Housing affordability: Units in Melbourne suburbs offer big discounts for first-home buyers
However, experts are tipping the Reserve Bank’s recent rate cut will give some young buyers more borrowing power, meaning improved capacity to achieve their dreams of both bricks and mortar and heading to the altar.
According to Aussie Home Loans’ research, de facto couples made up 15 per cent of the nation’s total home loans in 2015.
Today, unmarried partners account for almost a third for Australian mortgage holders.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data also shows Aussies are waiting longer to get married, with 32.9 years old the average age of men getting hitched and women now typically 31.2 years old before they say “I do”.
In 2015, the ages stood at 30.1 years and 28.5 years respectively.
This two-bedroom Epping house sold for $410,000 in December 2024. A 20 per cent deposit for the home would cost $82,000 – about half of that figure would cover the average cost of a wedding in Victoria.
The online directory Australian Bridal Industry Academy puts a Victorian wedding’s average cost at $47,200.
Wedding directory website Australian Bridal Industry Academy puts the Victorian wedding’s average cost at $47,200.
This figure would cover more than a quarter of an average-priced $890,300 Victorian house’s 20 per cent deposit ($178,060) – or 53 per cent for a 10 per cent deposit ($89,030).
Aussie Home Loans Ringwood and Echuca mortgage broker Luke Coates said more than 90 per cent of the first-home buyer couples he met today were unmarried, and most aged in their late 20s or into their 30s.
“If you take the marriage cost out of the deposit it sets you back three or four years from your savings goal, for most couples,” Mr Coates said.
But buying a home does not necessarily mean marriage has to be off the cards, with setting up a home loan offset account or redraw facility a good way to save for future nuptials.
And the RBA’s rate cut decision last month will likely give most first-home buyers greater borrowing power, meaning they could stretch their home budgets a bit further without touching money set aside for a wedding.
This three-bedroom house in Manor Lakes, in Melbourne’s west, sold for $500,000 in December. A 20 per cent deposit for the home would be $100,000 – slightly less than half this sum would cover a Victorian wedding’s average cost.
The average age that Australians are getting married stands at 31.2 years old for women and 32.9 years for men, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
With Melbourne property prices expected to rise across the next two years, property pundits have noted that purchasing a home means the chance to build equity that could be used to fund a wedding down the track.
Wedding planner Gee Tankir, who runs Melbourne-based Gee What a Wedding, said some couples were holding off tying the knot due to the cost of living and interest rates, with wedding suppliers’ higher costs since the Covid pandemic also impacting.
“I’m seeing that happen more and more right now, also people are starting families before getting married,” Ms Tankir said.
With two decades in the industry, she added that wishing wells were becoming more prominent at weddings, as opposed to gift registries.
Depending on the cultural conventions of a couple’s respective families, those who invite up to 500 guests can end up with a total $30,000-$50,000 cash boon from their wishing well.
“Sometimes people rely on that wishing well gift money for a house deposit,” Ms Tankir said.
Ilk Nur and Ihsan Daner and their wedding planner Gee Tankir, from Gee What a Wedding. Ms Tankir’s tips for saving money on weddings include reusing ceremony flowers for the reception, hiring a DJ rather than a band and choosing suppliers based on value and experience. Picture: Jason Edwards.
This Narre Warren house sold for $600,000 in February 2025. A 20 per cent deposit for the home would be $120,000, of which the average $47,200 wedding cost in Victoria would account for more than a third.
Ray White Melton principal Joe Mavrikos said many young couples and families bought into the region, one of the most affordable in Greater Melbourne.
“It was traditional to get married and then buy a home afterwards, I think it’s the other way around now,” Mr Mavrikos said.
He said Melton’s typical unit prices began at $350,000 and houses at the $465,000-$470,000 mark.
“A wedding can cost $30,000 or $40,000, which can be a deposit for a home,” he said.
“The first-home buyer market in Melton still shows a lot of value, allowing people to get into the market and later get married and have kids.”
Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
MORE: Interest rate cut sparks Melbourne bidding wars as auction prices soar past reserves
Housing affordability: young solo buyers reveal buying and rent challenges they’re facing
Aussie borrowers could save nearly $40,000 if they ditch one of the big four banks | Finder
English (US) · 