What factors are influencing these changes over time?
Changing household demographics and population increases have influenced home ownership trends and a move from home ownership to renting privately. They have also influenced changes to the dwelling type need of households (ABS 2017d; COAG 2018; Yates 2015).
Family and household composition
Family composition and marital status are related to housing tenure (Baxter & McDonald 2005; Stone et al. 2013). Over recent decades, the average household size has decreased and the number of single-people and single-parent households has increased, tending to have lower home ownership rates than other household types (Yates 2015). In 2016, for example, 16% of single-parent households with dependent children rented privately, an increase from 6.3% in 1981.
Population growth
Population increases in Australia are driving demand for housing, other services and infrastructure (COAG 2018). Most (84%) of the population increase in 2018–19 occurred in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney (ABS 2020). Overseas migration has contributed to increased housing demand (Daley et al. 2018). Most immigrants move to major cities, leading to an increase in demand for housing in these areas. International students have also had an impact on the private rental market, predominantly in major cities (Parkinson et al. 2018). The subsequent pressure on housing stocks in these areas highlights the need for coordinated and well considered urban planning strategies.
Changes in dwelling types
The types of dwellings Australians live in has changed over time. The proportion of households occupying separate houses (see glossary) has decreased in the past 20 years, from 76% of all households in 1996 to 73% in 2016, offset by increases in semi-detached and townhouse households. In 2016, around 13% of households lived in semi–detached row or terrace and townhouses, up from 8% in 1996. A total of 13% lived in flats or apartments in both 1996 and 2016 (ABS 2001, 2017a).
For more information on home ownership and housing tenure, see:
References
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ABS 2011. Census Dictionary, Australia, 2011. ABS cat. no. 2901.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2017a. 2016 Census QuickStats. Viewed on 27 February 2019,
ABS 2017b. Census of Population and Housing, 1971 to 2016, customised report. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2017c. Census of Population and Housing: Community Profile, DataPack and TableBuilder Templates, Australia, 2016. ABS cat. no. 2079.0. Findings based on TableBuilder analysis. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2017d. Census of Population and Housing: Reflecting Australia—stories from the Census, 2016. ABS cat. no. 2071.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2019. Housing Occupancy and Costs, 2017–18. ABS cat. no. 4130.0. Canberra: ABS.
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ATO (Australian Tax Office) 2019. First home super saver scheme. Viewed 6 March 2019.
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Baxter J & McDonald P 2005. Why is the rate of home ownership falling in Australia? Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) Research and Policy Bulletin issue no. 52. Melbourne: AHURI.
Burke T, Stone W & Ralston L 2014. Generational change in home purchase opportunity in Australia. AHURI final report no. 232. Melbourne: AHURI.
COAG (Council of Australian Governments) 2018. COAG meeting communiqué, 12 December 2018. Canberra: COAG. Viewed 14 December 2018.
Daley J, Coates B & Wiltshire T 2018. Housing Affordability: re–imagining the Australian Dream. Report no. 2018–04. Melbourne: Grattan Institute.
Hulse K, Burke T, Ralston L & Stone W 2012. The Australian private rental sector: changes and challenges. AHURI positioning paper no.149. Melbourne: AHURI.
NHFIC (National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation) 2020. First Home loan Deposit Scheme. Viewed 21 April 2020.
Parkinson S, James A & Kiu E 2018. Navigating a changing private rental sector: opportunities and challenges for low-income renters. 2018. AHURI final report no. 302. Melbourne: AHURI.
Stone W, Burke T, Hulse K & Ralston L 2013. Long-term private rental in a changing Australian private rental sector, AHURI final report no. 209. Melbourne: AHURI.
Yates J 2011. Explaining Australia’s trends in home ownership. Housing Finance International winter: 6–13.
Yates J 2015. Trends in home ownership: causes, consequences and solutions. Home Ownership Submission 3. Sydney: University of Sydney.