When he was in his early 20s and moving to Sydney for a graduate position, Anthony received financial support from his parents to help him to buy a one-bedroom apartment.
"They provided half of the deposit [about $30,000], went guarantor, and carried me for the first year so that I could get ahead on the mortgage," the now 30-year-old says.
This is a familiar story for many young people.
Housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable, with the house-price-to-income ratio ballooning from 2.5 in the early 1990s to over 6 in 2021.
That means first home ownership is increasingly out of reach, with people aged under 40 less likely to be home owners now than they have been at any other time since 1947.
So, many young adults are turning to family members to help them to finance their entry into the market.
While clear figures about this type of assistance are difficult to come by, some claim that as many as 60 per cent of first home buyers received direct financial assistance in mid-2021.
This plays a significant role in shaping who is able to get into the property market, and when they are able to do so.
But it is an area in which regulation has not kept pace with social change.
Financial decisions that shape our property markets are being made not in the offices of banks or mortgage brokers, but around the kitchen table.
And not all loans from the bank of mum and dad are created equally.
Some families loan large amounts, some small. Why they help – or why they don't – can vary wildly.
Often the role of a family's cultural background can play a big role in the decision to help, but it's not part of the wider discussion. This is despite the fact that Australia is more diverse now than at any other point since federation.
As part of my research at the University of Newcastle, I've spoken to 80 people in New South Wales (mostly in Sydney) who have given or received family financial assistance with first home ownership over the last 18 months.
Around half of the participants are from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Their experiences show how culture and a history of migration can play an important role in how loaning can transpire.
'Just how it works in our culture'
Anthony says his cultural heritage played a big role in his parents deciding to help him buy an apartment.
"Coming from a Macedonian background, it's all about owning your property. We don't like to rent. So that was instilled in me from a young age," he says.
Among my interviews, cultural identity is often used to explain why financial assistance was provided. Many people say things like "that's just how it works in Indian families" or "that's how it is in Chinese culture".
A family's cultural background also often comes into play in the sometimes unspoken terms and conditions around loans.
For example, the line between what's a gift and what's a loan can be blurry when money changes hands within families, especially between parents and children.
And the question of whether interest should be paid on money loaned can be polarising. Some parents see charging interest as a way to avoid encroaching on their child's independence and also help to offset any embarrassment that might come from accepting money from family.
But for others, the idea of charging interest to a family member surprises them or makes them laugh. "No, we don't do that", many say.
Usually this is because of the many different ways that families deal with money – whether it's seen an individual asset or as more of a shared family resource.
'They know about bricks and mortar'
A family's migratory history often comes up when you talk about family financial assistance.
Anthony's grandfather immigrated to Australia in his 40s and eventually he bought three properties. He instilled the value of owning property in his own children, including Anthony's mother.
"My family have always been in property. They don't know about shares or anything listed on the stock exchange, but they know about bricks and mortar," Anthony says.
Sometimes the importance of home ownership is passed through the family.
For instance, some first-generation migrants are unable to buy property themselves, or are not able to buy the type of property that they desire, so they pass on their ambition to buy property to their children.
The purchase of a property means buying into the so-called 'Australian dream' of home ownership, and it carries a sense of belonging and security.
This was true in Anthony's case. Before Anthony's mother married and started her family, she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father and older brother and buy property.
"She was desperate to buy into property, but she never did it because of the message that was coming from her father and others in the community," Anthony says, referring to the pressure his mother felt to marry, settle down and have a family, rather than keep working.
He says the frustration of this thwarted ambition drove her to help all three of her children with purchasing property. It was particularly important to her that Anthony's two older sisters were financially secure.
Interestingly, families who have recently migrated to Australia are also more likely to receive financial assistance from overseas family members, and to provide it in return.
This is especially likely for international students who remain in Australia after completing their studies.
Why culture matters
Another interesting point is who in the family knows when a parent lends money to a child.
For instance in many Anglo-Australian families, financial arrangements are made between parents (or a single parent) and their adult child. This can mean that, in some cases, their siblings may not even know that money has changed hands.
But, according to my research, families from culturally and linguistically diverse communities are more likely to share the details of the arrangement with both the immediate family and, in many cases, the extended family.
It seems like the more people that are aware of an arrangement, the less likely it is to be formalised or even written down.
This is why understanding the role culture plays in family financial assistance with home ownership is important.
It helps us understand the many different motivations and experiences behind why people do this.
It also helps us to understand whether the advice provided to those giving and receiving financial assistance fits with the way these arrangements actually unfold.
There's a regulatory blind spot when it comes to the bank of mum and dad. And any efforts to change this will need to take into account the role that culture plays in shaping diverse approaches to the relationship between family and money.
Dr Julia Cook is a youth sociologist at the University of Newcastle and an ABC Top 5 Humanities scholar for 2022.
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