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Housing aspirations and preferences among Australian households

Summary

Project Number: 20017
Research Theme: Home_Ownership
Project Leader: Baum, Scott
Funding Year: 2000
Research Centre: Queensland

Research & Policy Bulletin

Issue 023: Home ownership in Australia - the gap between aspiration and achievement

Australians continue to aspire to home ownership, but less than one third of those for whom buying a home was an important short-term goal were able to achive it within three years.

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51 KB PDF Document

Description

This study is about housing aspirations in Australian society. More specifically it aimed to illustrate the way in which the changing nature of Australian society is reflected in changing housing aspirations among different household groups and what these changes mean within the arena of housing policy. The research used cohort analysis to analyse readily available data sources to investigate the changing housing aspirations and preferences of Australian households. The overall aims of this study were to better inform policy makers and researchers regarding the housing aspirations of the Australian population and to establish a framework for further analysis of this area.

By undertaking a review of existing data the study drew out a number of key points. These include: how do housing aspirations differ between different cohorts of Australian housing consumers; what is the link between housing aspirations and wider issues of housing choice; how are aspirations/choices changing between cohorts; what implications do these changes have for policy; and what additional areas need to be addressed to inform policy makers and researchers about the likely future direction of housing aspirations.

The project provided a number of benefits to policy. The outcomes are important as they assist to better inform industry and other peak bodies about the changing nature of housing aspirations and choice among different cohorts of the population. They not only provided insight into the changing structure of aspiration/choice in terms of long-term housing tenure commitment, but also assisted in understanding some of the dynamics of different cohorts and the associations between their housing choice and aspirations and the constraints they face in achieving these. This is especially important given the changing nature of the economy and society at the dawn of the new millennium.

More Information

Positioning Paper: No. 014: Housing aspirations of Australian households
159 KB PDF Document

Final Report: No. 030: Housing aspirations of Australian households
126 KB PDF Document

Research and Policy Bulletin: Issue 023: Home ownership in Australia - the gap between aspiration and achievement
51 KB PDF Document