For years, public conversations about South African youth have swung between concern and hope — concern over high unemployment, rising debt, and delayed milestones; and hope that this generation, raised in freedom, will one day realise the country’s promise.
But beyond these broad narratives lies something more telling: the quiet, deliberate financial choices young South Africans make every day as they build their futures.
At Standard Bank, we recently launched our inaugural Youth Barometer report, revealing surprising insights into the real financial lives of South African youth. This was not survey or opinion data, but insights drawn from the actual transaction and credit behaviour of more than 3-million young customers, offering an unfiltered view of how they navigate economic realities and manage their money.
The picture that emerges challenges common assumptions, and should spark fresh thinking, not only in our boardrooms but also in other industries and in policy circles.
The first truth is this: youth are not disengaged. In fact, those under 35s make up a significant portion of Standard Bank’s home loans book, as well as 38% of the bank’s Vehicle and Asset Finance base. This is not the profile of a generation sitting on the sidelines. It’s a generation actively participating in the economy, building their futures step by careful step.
But zoom in closer, and the story becomes more layered. Within this cohort, the youngest segment — those aged 18 -24 — remains the least represented among new homeowners. At this life stage, much of their income goes towards meeting immediate needs: food, connectivity, transport, and other essentials. When they do finance vehicles, there’s often little room left for additional asset purchases or long-term investment.
This pattern reflects more than just youthful impatience; it speaks to practical necessity. Incomes are still modest, permanent employment is limited. So, mobility is essential for accessing work opportunities, particularly for many young people who live on the outskirts of our metropolitan centres, a spatial legacy shaped over decades. In such contexts, a car is not a luxury but a lifeline — the first, crucial rung on the ladder to economic participation and better prospects.
While these choices are sometimes misread as financial shortsightedness, they are, in fact, making deliberate, adaptive decisions to improve their mobility and, by extension, their chances of employment and advancement. Yet this necessary mobility comes at a cost. Customers aged 18-24 carry the highest instalment-to-income ratios on vehicle finance, averaging 21.4%, compared to 18.1% for those aged 25–29, and 15.3% for those 30–35. In other words, the youngest working youth are committing more of their earnings to car repayments than any other group, simply to keep up with the demands of working life.
On the surface, this may seem like deferral or delay when it comes to traditional wealth-building milestones such as home-ownership. But seen differently, it’s evidence of remarkable economic resilience and rational adaptation. These young South Africans are making the best decisions they can — choosing mobility before ownership, access before asset and survival before stability.
The youth are not abandoning traditional aspirations like homeownership; they are simply reaching these milestones in ways and timelines that reflect the real economic landscape they must navigate
And yet there is reason for optimism. Our data shows that once youth move past the financially stretched 18-24 bracket, they begin participating more actively in the property market and planning for the long term through insurance and investments.
Those under 35 now make up nearly 40% of all new home loans registered by Standard Bank between January 2023 and April 2025. This is encouraging proof that the youth are not abandoning traditional aspirations like homeownership; they are simply reaching these milestones in ways and timelines that reflect the real economic landscape they must navigate.
This contrasts sharply with global youth experiences, especially in Europe, where soaring housing costs since 2010 have locked many out of the property market.
The South African difference? Our youth are actively engaging with credit markets, financing vehicles and, as their earning power grows, entering the home-loan space. While they may not buy homes in their early 20s, they’re laying the groundwork for future ownership, investing in mobility and opportunity as the first steps toward long-term security.
This challenges the notion of disengagement. Far from being apathetic, South African youth are pragmatic and adaptive. They are making smart financial choices in response to real economic pressures.
The data also calls for empathy. It urges older generations, businesses, and policymakers to rethink outdated markers of success like home-ownership or marriage by 25. Today’s youth haven’t lost ambition; they’re simply forging new paths to achieve it.
This is the story behind the numbers: a generation quietly balancing hope, strain, ambition, and patience as they build their futures in a complex, shifting economy.
• Manokore is head of personal and private banking at Standard Bank SA
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