I love brunch. I’ll quite happily spend my Sunday morning standing in a queue for an hour just so I can enjoy an eggs benedict washed down with a couple of flat whites.

My weekend ritual of brunch is something I loved to do when I was living in Australia and I am pleased to see this same Sunday morning tradition forms part of many a Gen Y’s lifestyle here in London.

However, I never once thought my weekly pilgrimage to my favourite cafe was costing me a chance of home ownership. That was until Australian demographer Bernard Salt said this:

I have seen young people order smashed avocado with crumbled feta on five-grain toasted bread at $22 (£15) a pop and more. I can afford to eat this for lunch because I am middle aged and have raised my family. But how can young people afford to eat like this? Shouldn’t they be economising by eating at home? How often are they eating out? Twenty-two dollars several times a week could go towards a deposit on a house.

Salt was commenting (albeit tongue in cheek) on the housing crisis debate in Australia and, at the same time, shone the light on the issue of intergenerational inequality.

Housing prices in Australia are skyrocketing, with some areas in Sydney seeing the median house prices some 20-25 times the average annual salary for that area. The response to this has been for many younger people to turn to the bank of mum and dad to fund their first home purchase.

Others have taken the extreme step of forgoing the very concept of home ownership. Instead, their focus is on renting where they want to live, have a lifestyle where they can eat, drink and travel when and where they want to, without the burden of massive debt.

Sound familiar? It should. The very same thing is happening here in London.

While it is easy for the baby boomer generation to tell us Gen-Ys to suck it up and deal with it, we can be quick to point out that housing prices in London have quadrupled over the past 20 years and salaries have not. The world we live in today means it is harder for younger generations to buy their first home.

And the solution to this issue is the same in Australia as it is here in London: more homes need to be built, and fast.

Sadiq Khan wants 50,000 new homes per year built. Others say we need even more.

We Gen Ys are told that increasing the supply of homes will put a dampener on escalating housing prices and make it easier for us to own our first homes. However, given the average price for a new home in London recently hit the £600,000 mark, home ownership is still out of reach of many, particularly young people.

It is easy to be cynical about home ownership when faced with these prices. However, I’m an optimist and I have high hopes that collectively the property industry and the government can deliver on these housing targets and one day I will be able to purchase my first home.

That said, I’m still not going to give up my love affair with brunch anytime soon to make it happen any faster.