Unravelling the "Australian Housing Solution": The Post-War Years

Abstract

Australia has long been seen as the prime example of a ?home owning democracy?. More than 50% of the population were home owners by the turn of the 20th century. This figure climbed to 70% in the first 15 years after the Second World War. More than 90% of middle aged and older Australians alive today have owned their dwelling at some stage in their lives. However, in the 1990s there are clear signs that home ownership is on the decline. The proportion of households purchasing on a mortgage is falling across all age groups and income classes. Decline is particularly evident among younger and lower income groups, suggesting that underlying economic and demographic forces are at work. Governments at all levels in Australia are turning away from an almost exclusive concern with encouraging owner occupation in favour of targeting housing subsidies towards low income tenants in the private rental market, as well as the small social housing sector. This paper traces the rise and imminent decline of owner occupation in Australia over past 50 years, identifying the structural social and economic factors responsible and placing the analysis within a theoretical framework informed by regulation theory and David Harvey's analysis of the Keynesian and post-Keynesian cities.

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