Australia's widely cited home ownership rate, currently around 66%, may be significantly overstated due to the way the national census counts homeowners, according to economist Karl Fitzgerald from Grounded Community Land Trust Advocacy.
While official figures indicate that home ownership peaked above 70% in the mid-1960s before declining slightly, Fitzgerald contends the real rate is closer to 52%. He explains that the discrepancy arises from a single census question that counts all adults living in an owner-occupied dwelling as homeowners, even if they do not own the property themselves.
This method excludes about half a million young Australians living in their parents' spare rooms from ownership statistics, as they are not counted in their own generation's figures. Fitzgerald highlights that these individuals are "not counted as missing out. They are not counted at all," which inflates the perceived ownership rate.
Under an alternative measure, an adult is considered a homeowner only if they are the household reference person or their spouse/partner in an owner-occupied home. Other adults residing in the same dwelling are excluded from ownership counts because they do not own the home. This approach uses all persons aged 18 and over as the denominator.
Fitzgerald warns that this inflated ownership figure masks the reality of housing access and could influence housing policy and politics. "The people locked out of ownership are propping up the very number that says the market is fine," he said, adding that "this makes ownership a razor sharp contest between those who have and those who do not."
For comparison, the home ownership rate in the United States is reported to be 65%, using similar measurement standards.
Fitzgerald also notes that the issue obscures ownership trends across different age cohorts, further complicating the understanding of housing dynamics in Australia.
Loading comments.