It's probably not a huge surprise, but here's the confirmation: home ownership levels among Australian millennials are among the lowest in the world, a survey by HSBC has found.

Just 28 per cent of Australian millennials own a home, only marginally higher than their peers in the United Arab Emirates (26 per cent), and significantly lower than millennials in Mexico, who have one of the highest rates of home ownership (46 per cent), according to the report which surveyed 9000 people in nine countries.

It's not that millennials -  defined here as people born between 1981 and 1998 - wouldn't like to buy a home, with 83 per cent of those surveyed telling HSBC they intend to buy in the next five years.

But by far the biggest challenge to buying a home is saving enough money for a deposit, cited by 75 per cent of millennials, according to the report.

"Despite the rising costs, millennials overwhelming still want to own a home in Australia. The dream certainly isn't dead," HSBC head of mortgages Alice Del Vecchio said.

Linked to the first hurdle, the second-biggest barrier to owning a home was having an insufficient salary to save, with 61 per cent saying they needed a higher salary before they could buy a home.

Contributing to the low rate of home ownership may be that the "Bank of Mum and Dad" is less likely to help out in Australia than in other countries.

While on average 36 per cent of millennials have received help from their parents, just 30 per cent of Australians have tapped that source.

The survey also found that just 17 per cent of Aussie millennials have a precise house buying budget in place, while nearly half of those who have bought a house overspent on their original budget.

"This research demonstrates that a lack of preparation and understanding of the realities of owning real estate however can stall or even deflate those dreams," Ms Del Vecchio said.