Daughters short-changed by bank of mum and dad

“The gender gift gap identified in our Housing Monitor is shocking, but perhaps it shouldn’t be: there’s lots of evidence that suggest that sons often receive more through inheritance and more financial help from their families than do daughters, in Australia and internationally,” he said.

For those who bought in the 1980s, about 15 per cent of people tapped the bank of mum and dad but the gap between sons and daughters was much narrower than today.

Even among more recent generations, the research found large gender differences. While almost 33 per cent of male millennials received parental handouts, 21 per cent of females in the same age group had help.

It found more than 45 per cent of men are keeping up with their mortgages without difficulty compared to 31.5 per cent of women.

Almost one in four women say it is a constant struggle to keep up with repayments while 18 per cent of men are in the same predicament.

“What is clear is that women, who are already less likely to own their own home or benefit from investment properties, and more likely to be trapped in unaffordable private rental properties throughout their lives, will be further disadvantaged in our housing market as the gender gift gap gives their brothers a bigger boost to buy their first home,” she said.