The Head, the Heart, and the House

This is a paper about older Australians and their homes. Homes are bricks and mortar and more. What they are and what they represent is not sufficiently captured by the labels “primary residence” or “owner-occupied” dwellings. It is only when we understand this that we can develop policies around housing for later life. The starting point is to let go of the idea that rational policies and financial incentives are the only way to influence older people about where and how to live. This approach has not worked. In a kind of rational policy nirvana older people might all downsize and “free up” housing for younger generations. However the reality is that many people, particularly current older cohorts, will choose to age in their current homes for a variety of reasons. We therefore need a policy mix that adapts the current housing stock to longer lives while also developing new housing, particularly for the vulnerable aged.