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Treasurer Scott Morrison, in his recent speech, emphasised the falling proportion of Australian households that own their own home. ‘Home ownership rates are falling across all age cohorts, but particularly for young Australians. Between 2002 and 2014, Australian home ownership among 25–34 year olds declined from 38.7 per cent to 29.2 per cent. That is more than 160,000 young people that would otherwise be home owners,’ he said.

AHURI research, ‘Factors shaping the dynamics of housing affordability in Australia 2001–11’ (2015), reveals a sharp decline in home ownership rates between 1982 and 2011, especially among the younger age groups. The home ownership rate among those aged 25–34 years has plunged by 21.5 percentage points, and although roughly one-third of this age group are now homeowners, 30 years ago one-half of that age group were home owners.

graph
Australian national home ownership rate by age group, 1982–2011

Source: Factors shaping the dynamics of housing affordability in Australia 2001–11, AHURI Final Report No. 244 (2015)

Home ownership rates are falling across all age cohorts, but particularly for young Australians.