4130.0.55.001 - Housing Occupancy and Costs, Australia, 2000-01  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 21/04/2004   
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MEDIA RELEASE

April 21, 2004
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
57/2004
More home owners have a mortgage: ABS

The proportion of owner-occupied dwellings with a mortgage or loan secured against the property increased from 40% to 46% in the five years to 2000-01, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

About one-third of this increase is attributable to borrowing primarily for purposes other than housing i.e., to finance other expenditures such as education, cars, holidays etc.

Housing costs are the largest regular item of expenditure for many households and, in 2000-01, mortgagee households' average housing-related mortgage and property rates payments were $220 per week, or 17% of their income.

Households renting privately paid an average rent of $173 per week, or 20% of their income, while those renting public housing paid an average rent of $73 per week, or 18% of their income.

Housing costs vary considerably between capital cities. Sydney households paid the highest private rents ($246 per week) and highest housing-related mortgage payments ($316 per week). Hobart's average housing costs were the lowest at $77 per week, reflecting relatively low mortgages and rents as well as higher rates of outright home ownership.

Sydney had the highest median dwelling value ($320,000) and Hobart the lowest ($130,000).

Almost 1.1 million households had purchased their home in the three years prior to the 2000-01 survey, with the majority (62%) being changeover buyers. The median price paid by changeover buyers was $200,000, compared to a median price of $155,000 paid by first home buyers.

Nearly 80% of recent home buyers bought established homes with a median price of $170,000, compared to a median price of $220,000 for recently bought new dwellings.

Established homes tended, on average, to be slightly smaller than new dwellings (3.1 bedrooms compared to 3.4 bedrooms) reflecting in part the higher proportion of established flats/units being purchased (9% of all recent purchases of established dwellings) compared to new flats/units (4% of all new purchases).

More details are available on the ABS website in Housing Occupancy and Costs, Australian 2000-01 (cat. no. 4130.0.55.001).