1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2002  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/01/2002   
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Contents >> Housing >> Home ownership and renting

Australia has a high rate of home ownership. Of the 7.2 million households in Australia in 1999-2000, 71% were living in their own home, and 26% were renting their dwelling from a State or Territory housing authority or private landlords (table 8.6).

In 1999-2000, 38% of households owned their homes outright. In addition, 32% of households were paying off a mortgage or loan secured against their dwelling.

Of the almost two million households renting their dwellings, 74% were renting from private landlords, 20% were renting from State or Territory housing authorities and the remaining 6% from other landlords such as the owner/manager of a caravan park, an employer (including a government authority) or a community or church group.


8.6 ALL HOUSEHOLDS, By Dwelling Structure and Tenure and Landlord Type - 1999-2000

Tenure and landlord type

Separate house

’000

Semi-detached/row
or terrace house/townhouse

’000

Flat/unit/apartment

’000

Total(a)

’000

Owner without a mortgage
2,455.4
171.7
106.2
2,758.3
Owner with a mortgage
2,094.9
134.8
78.8
2,315.7
Renter
State/Territory housing authority
216.4
106.0
79.1
402.0
Private landlord
752.0
269.0
414.7
1,446.4
Total(b)
1,040.5
394.7
510.9
1,962.8
Other tenure(c)
106.6
*7.7
29.8
151.4
Total
5,697.4
708.9
725.8
7,188.1

(a) Includes other dwelling structure.
(b) Includes other landlord type.
(c) Includes rent free and life tenure.

Source: ABS data available on request, Survey of Income and Housing Costs, 1999-2000.


Around 90% of owners lived in separate houses in 1999-2000. Of renter households, 53% lived in separate houses and 26% lived in flats, units or apartments.

Over one-third of households (34%) that owned their own home outright were couples with no children. One parent households accounted for 6% of outright owners, and lone person households made up 27% (based on table 8.7).

For couple households with dependent children only, the majority (79%) were owners, while 20% were renting. Of one parent families, 49% were home owners, 17% were renting from a State or Territory housing authority and 30% were renting from private landlords.


8.7 ALL HOUSEHOLDS, By Tenure and Landlord Type and Household Composition - 1999-2000

Owner
Renter
Without a mortgage
With a
mortgage
State/Territory housing authority
Private landlord
Total(a)
Other
tenure(b)
Total
’000
’000
’000
’000
’000
’000
’000

Couple, one family
Couple only
936.6
448.0
37.5
236.0
287.5
22.7
1,694.9
Couple with dependent children only
369.2
984.8
47.4
272.9
345.9
*19.7
1,719.7
Couple - other(c)
414.1
315.9
24.5
57.6
92.1
n.p.
825.2
Total couples, one family
1,719.9
1,748.7
109.5
566.4
725.5
45.5
4,239.7
One parent, one family(d)
166.8
152.9
113.9
199.9
326.6
*9.8
656.0
Lone person
745.4
293.2
164.0
413.4
614.8
85.2
1,738.6
Other
126.2
120.9
*14.6
266.6
295.8
*10.9
555.8
Total
2,758.3
2,315.7
402.0
1,446.4
1,962.8
151.4
7,188.1

(a) Includes other landlord type.
(b) Includes rent free and life tenure.
(c) Includes couples with non-dependent children and may include other family members.
(d) Includes one-parent families with dependants or non-dependent children and may include other family members.

Source: ABS data available on request, Survey of Income and Housing Costs, 1999-2000.


Tenure patterns vary across States and Territories. Victoria had the highest proportion of overall home ownership, with 76% of dwellings either being purchased or owned outright (table 8.8). The lowest proportion of overall home ownership (56%) was in the Northern Territory. The Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Western Australia had the highest proportion of households still purchasing their home (42%, 38% and 38% respectively).

The Northern Territory had the highest proportion of renters at 40%. This was considerably higher than the national rate of 27%. The proportion of households renting from private landlords ranged from 17% in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania to 25% in Queensland.

The differences in tenure partly reflect differences in the age and life structures across States and Territories (see the article Housing and lifestyle).

8.8 ALL HOUSEHOLDS, By Tenure and Landlord Type and State/Territory - 1999-2000

Owner
Renter
State/Territory
Without a mortgage
%
With a
mortgage
%
State/Territory
housing authority
%

Private landlord
%

Total(a)
%

Other tenure(b)
%

Total
%

Total
’000

New South Wales
39.8
30.5
5.9
21.0
28.1
1.6
100.0
2,406.0
Victoria
43.6
32.0
4.1
17.0
22.1
2.3
100.0
1,753.2
Queensland
34.6
31.7
4.7
24.7
31.6
2.1
100.0
1,335.8
South Australia
37.5
32.0
9.5
16.7
28.2
*2.3
100.0
612.1
Western Australia
31.5
37.9
5.4
20.0
27.6
3.0
100.0
719.1
Tasmania
41.7
30.3
*6.5
17.0
25.1
*2.9
100.0
187.6
Northern Territory(c)
*17.7
*38.3
*9.4
*22.4
39.5
**4.5
100.0
53.8
Australian Capital Territory
25.8
42.4
*10.2
19.4
20.3
**1.6
100.0
120.5
Australia
38.4
32.2
5.6
20.1
27.3
2.1
100.0
7,188.1

(a) Includes other landlord type.
(b) Includes rent free and life tenure.
(b) Excludes remote and sparsely settled areas.

Source: ABS data available on request, Survey of Income and Housing Costs, 1999-2000.



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