Sustaining home ownership in Australia: Emerging policy concerns

The idea that housing careers progress smoothly from leaving the parental home through renting and then ownership, with low housing costs cushioning lower post-retirement income, is losing its relevance in the 21st century. Secure housing careers in home ownership are being challenged by the risks a...

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Main Authors: Wood, G., Ong, Rachel
Format: Conference Paper
Published: 2012
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13374
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author Wood, G.
Ong, Rachel
author_facet Wood, G.
Ong, Rachel
author_sort Wood, G.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The idea that housing careers progress smoothly from leaving the parental home through renting and then ownership, with low housing costs cushioning lower post-retirement income, is losing its relevance in the 21st century. Secure housing careers in home ownership are being challenged by the risks associated with housing market volatility and innovation in mortgage markets as a result of financial deregulation. Increasing numbers of Australians are vulnerable to complex and insecure housing careers that feature tenure churning where a precarious foothold in home ownership is dislodged, commonly because of household dissolution, but sometimes because of other generally unanticipated adverse shocks. If growing numbers of Australians find home ownership unsustainable, it will add to the already intense pressure on housing assistance, especially among older Australians who are less likely to bounce back into home ownership given declining rates of economic participation in later years. This paper examines whether high levels of home ownership are sustainable in the early years of the 21st century and whether current Australian policy settings towards home ownership are optimal. We will draw on the published work of social researchers as well as our own empirical estimates to enrich understanding of the challenges faced by home ownership policy in Australia.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-133742019-05-23T06:27:07Z Sustaining home ownership in Australia: Emerging policy concerns Wood, G. Ong, Rachel The idea that housing careers progress smoothly from leaving the parental home through renting and then ownership, with low housing costs cushioning lower post-retirement income, is losing its relevance in the 21st century. Secure housing careers in home ownership are being challenged by the risks associated with housing market volatility and innovation in mortgage markets as a result of financial deregulation. Increasing numbers of Australians are vulnerable to complex and insecure housing careers that feature tenure churning where a precarious foothold in home ownership is dislodged, commonly because of household dissolution, but sometimes because of other generally unanticipated adverse shocks. If growing numbers of Australians find home ownership unsustainable, it will add to the already intense pressure on housing assistance, especially among older Australians who are less likely to bounce back into home ownership given declining rates of economic participation in later years. This paper examines whether high levels of home ownership are sustainable in the early years of the 21st century and whether current Australian policy settings towards home ownership are optimal. We will draw on the published work of social researchers as well as our own empirical estimates to enrich understanding of the challenges faced by home ownership policy in Australia. 2012 Conference Paper http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13374 restricted
spellingShingle Wood, G.
Ong, Rachel
Sustaining home ownership in Australia: Emerging policy concerns
title Sustaining home ownership in Australia: Emerging policy concerns
title_full Sustaining home ownership in Australia: Emerging policy concerns
title_fullStr Sustaining home ownership in Australia: Emerging policy concerns
title_full_unstemmed Sustaining home ownership in Australia: Emerging policy concerns
title_short Sustaining home ownership in Australia: Emerging policy concerns
title_sort sustaining home ownership in australia: emerging policy concerns
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13374