While 70 per cent of Australians chase the Great Australian Dream of property ownership, more households are renting than ever before, finds fresh research from CBA and the ABS.
Commonwealth Bank’s research found 75 per cent of people under the age of 30 believed property ownership to be the Great Australian Dream. In comparison, 69 per cent of those aged 30 and over felt the same way.
The data also found that a growing proportion of Australians now consider the dream of property ownership to be within their reach – with 91 per cent of the bank’s survey respondents saying it was achievable.
In comparison, one in every five Australians felt that property ownership was elusive in 2018.
“Our research shows a large shift in the number of people who now feel the dream of property ownership is achievable,” says Dan Huggins, CBA’s executive general manager for home buying.
“This data suggests Australians are taking an increasingly optimistic attitude towards the property market.”
Attitudes towards the property market differ from state to state. Property ownership is more likely to be a goal in Victoria and South Australia (both 74%) compared with NSW (70%), Queensland and Western Australia (both 64%).
Meanwhile, more households are renting than ever before, according to new figures from Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The proportion of Australian households that rent has increased by five per cent over the last two decades, from 27 per cent in 1997-1998 to 32 per cent in 2017-2018.
Over the same 20-year period, the proportion of households renting from a private landlord increased to 27 per cent (up from 20 per cent), while the proportion of public housing tenants decreased from six per cent to three per cent.
ABS chief economist Bruce Hockman attributes some of the decrease in public housing numbers to the community housing sector “taking on an increasingly prominent role”.
The proportion of households that owned their own home fell to 66 per cent, down from 70 per cent in 1997-98.
Twenty per cent of households owned one or more residential properties other than their usual residence. Of those households that owned other residential property, 71 per cent owned a single property, while five per cent owned four or more properties.
The ABS says housing costs have remained steady for most household tenure types over recent years. In 2017-2018, renters paid an average of $366 each week on housing, while owners with a mortgage spent $484 per week.
“Interest rates have remained relatively low over the past several years and we have seen a recent softening in the rental market in some major cities,” Hockman adds.