KEY POINTS:
Noelene Carey of St Marys Bay in Auckland is one of the lost generation of house buyers.
"I used to aspire to buying a house but I went overseas between 2000 and 2002 and I spent a chunk of my money having a good time." she said.
"When I came back, the housing market had gone up heaps. It's depressing. If houses were more affordable, it would be encouraging to save more."
The city worker has joined the ranks of a new generation who have abandoned home-ownership hopes.
Home ownership rates plummeted from 76 per cent in 1991 to 67 per cent in 2006.
