Gavin Wood
Fall in ageing Australians’ home-ownership rates looms
According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Income and Housing, home-ownership rates among Australians aged 55-64 years dropped from 86% to 81% between 2001 and 2016.
Mortgage burdens have spiked in the 55-64 age group. In 2001 roughly 80% were mortgage-free. By 2016 this had plummeted to only 56%.
Indebtedness is even growing among owners aged 65 and over.
2019
Fall in ageing Australians’ home-ownership rates looms as seismic shock for housing policy
Outright home ownership has long been regarded as a supporting pillar of Australian retirement incomes policies. Increasingly, concerns that rising mortgage debt and falling home ownership rates in later life are undermining the role of home ownership in supporting retirees’ financial wellbeing.
2019
Themes:
Mortgage stress and precarious home ownership: implications for older Australians
This research investigated the growing numbers of middle aged and older Australians who are carrying mortgage debt into retirement and paying off higher levels of debt relative to house values and income. Between 1987 and 2015, mortgage debt among older mortgagors increased by 600 per cent (from $27,000 to over $185,000).
2019
When falling home ownership and ageing baby boomers collide
Until now, the majority of older people in Australia have achieved the goal of owning their own home outright. Hence, policymakers have typically shown little concern about the size and budget costs of rental housing assistance programs for seniors.
2018
Themes:
Housing equity withdrawal: Perceptions of obstacles among older Australian home owners and associated service providers
Housing wealth dominates the asset portfolios of the older population in Australia and many other countries. Given the anticipated spike in fiscal costs associated with population ageing, there is growing policy interest in housing equity withdrawal (HEW) to finance living needs in retirement.
2017
Themes:
Housing Older Australians: Loss of home ownership and pathways into housing assistance
In Australia and other ‘homeownership societies’ it has been conventional to think of housing pathways in terms of a smooth linear progression, leading to outright ownership in middle age and a retirement buffered by low housing costs. This vision of the welfare role of home ownership is an important buttress of Australian retirement incomes policy.
2015
Entries and Exits from Homelessness: A dynamic analysis of the relationship between structural conditions and individual characteristics
This report examines the relationship between structural factors, individual characteristics and homelessness. Our interest in the interaction of structural conditions and individual characteristics gives rise to two secondary research questions.
2015
Australian demographic trends and their implications for housing subsidies
This Positioning Paper is the first output of a project that aims to forecast future housing subsidies that will accompany projected demographic changes and the challenges these trends may pose for the fiscal sustainability of housing policy.
2015
Themes:
Asset poverty, precarious housing and ontological security in older age: an Australian case study
Abstract
Over two-thirds of Australians are owner-occupiers and a majority of the population holds most of their wealth in housing.
2014
Themes:
Assets, debt and the drawdown of housing equity by an ageing population
This Positioning Paper is the first output of a project that aims to uncover the uses, financial costs and risks of housing equity withdrawal (HEW) via alternative mechanisms by older Australians.
2013
Themes:
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"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort."