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Gen X households now hold the most property wealth of any generation, as baby boomers downsize their homes and move more of their money into cash and retirement accounts.

Once known as the “slacker generation”, those born between 1965 and 1980 are mostly now aged over 50 years and have enjoyed years of inflated home prices.

Gen X households average $1.455m in wealth from dwellings and land, according to an analysis of ABS and census data by KPMG.

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This compared to $1.36m in average property wealth among boomers – who remain the wealthiest overall, due to their super holdings and relative lack of debts.

Terry Rawnsley, an urban economist at KPMG, said the figures showed a generational “passing of the baton” when it came to property riches, which remains a “cornerstone” of Australians’ wealth.

In contrast, household property wealth among millennials – aged between 29 and 44 – was $890,000 on average, the analysis shows, reflecting lower rates of home ownership among this generation.

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But with housing more unaffordable than ever, home ownership among younger households has dropped sharply and risks a major rise in intergenerational inequity, Rawnsley said.

By age bracket, households of those aged between 25 and 34 had $575,000 in property wealth on average – although this is offset by an average $346,000 in debt.

Rawnsley said while home ownership rates among older generations hovered about 80%, only around half of households in this younger cohort owned homes.

“The median house price at almost $1m across the country, so with that 50% home ownership rate you get to $500,000 in property wealth pretty easily”.

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It was the remaining half of younger households who risk being left behind by the time they are in their 40s and 50s if they are unable to get on to the property ladder.

“If you miss out on that property purchase when you are in your 20s or 30s, the impact of that on your wealth will carry on for the next 30-40 years,” Rawnsley said.

With only slightly more than one in 10 homes for sale affordable for the average first home buyer, according to KPMG research, the pressure on younger Australians to make the right decisions was growing.

“There are a lot more difficult questions being asked of a 25-year-old today than there were 10, 20 or 40 years ago,” Rawnsley said.

“Being a ‘forever renter’ is not just about a lifestyle choice, it can be about locking in generational disadvantage – and not just for you, but for your kids as well, given the growing role of the bank of mum and dad.”

There has been strong criticism of the government’s first home buyer scheme on the basis it simply adds to demand, and therefore prices.

But Rawnsley’s “contrarian” view was that paying what he judged as 1-2% more for a home because of such schemes was worth it.

“If someone can save five years of rent in Sydney and get into the property market five years earlier, then that means a lot of people who can’t rely on the bank of mum and dad will ultimately be better off.”