1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2012
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/05/2012
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Statistics contained in the Year Book are the most recent available at the time of preparation. In many cases, the ABS website and the websites of other organisations provide access to more recent data. Each Year Book table or graph and the bibliography at the end of each chapter provides hyperlinks to the most up to date data release where available.
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HOUSING COSTS
For most Australians, whether buying or renting their home, the provision of adequate housing for themselves and their families involves substantial expenditure throughout much of their lives. Housing costs are often the largest regular expenses to be met from a household's current income.
The housing costs measure compiled from the Survey of Income and Housing is defined as the sum of:
In 2009–10, owners without a mortgage had the lowest housing costs, averaging $36 per week, or 3% of gross household income. In contrast, owners with a mortgage had the highest housing costs, averaging $408 per week or 18% of their gross household income.
Among renters, housing costs averaged $119 per week for households renting from a state or territory housing authority and more than double that ($305) for households renting from a private landlord. The effect of Commonwealth rent assistance (CRA) should be taken into consideration when comparing the housing costs of private renters with those of other households.
Eligible social security recipients may receive a non-taxable income supplement in the form of CRA if the private rent they pay is above a threshold level. It is estimated that CRA effectively lowers the total housing costs by 10% for all private renters, and by 30% for those private renters who receive CRA. For more information see HOUSING ASSISTANCE and Housing Occupancy and Costs, Australia (4130.0).
For the majority of owner and renter households, housing costs represented less than 25% of gross household income, but for some it was more than 50%. In 2009–10, 10% of private renters and 7% of owners with a mortgage spent more than half of their gross income on housing (table 10.9).
housing costs
housing costs
as a proportion of
gross household income(a)
gross household income
gross household income
Between 1994–95 and 2009–10, owners with a mortgage experienced a $121 increase in average weekly housing costs, after adjustment for inflation (graph 10.10). As a proportion of gross household income, housing costs of owners with a mortgage have remained around 18% over this time (graph 10.11).
For other tenure types, changes in weekly housing costs were smaller, with an overall real increase of $95 for private renters and $26 for public renters between 1994–95 and 2009–10. The proportion of income spent on housing costs has remained around 20% for private renters, but has increased slightly for public renters from 18% in 1994–95 to 19% in 2009–10. As noted above, the effect of CRA receipts should be taken into consideration when making comparisons of housing costs of private renters with those of other tenure types.
In 2009–10, households in Sydney, Canberra, and Darwin had the highest average weekly housing costs – $291, $304 and $307 respectively (graph 10.12). In each of these cities, housing costs averaged more than $450 per week for owners with a mortgage, $370 per week for private renters and $125 per week for public renters (table 10.13). At $175 per week, average housing costs in Hobart were just 60% of the Sydney average, and the lowest of all the capital cities.
In all states, average housing costs were higher in the capital city than in the rest of the state. The greatest differences were in South Australia, with Adelaide housing costs 53% higher than the rest of state, and New South Wales, with Sydney housing costs 50% higher than in the rest of the state. In contrast, Brisbane housing costs were 15% higher than in the rest of Queensland, which had the highest non-capital city housing costs in Australia. This is influenced by Queensland's high level of urban settlement outside of Brisbane.
Differences in average housing costs between regions reflect differences in property values (see HOME BUYERS), rental prices and tenure patterns (see HOME OWNERS AND RENTERS). In 2009–10, the median value of dwellings in Sydney ($550,000) was more than 57% higher than that of Hobart ($350,000) as was the mean amount of mortgage outstanding ($239,317 compared with $140,344). Consequently, average weekly housing costs for home owners with a mortgage were higher in Sydney than in Hobart ($484 compared with $289) (table 10.13). Also, housing costs for private renters in Sydney were 80% higher than in Hobart. The proportion of Sydney households renting privately was also higher (26% compared with 21%) further contributing to the overall difference in average housing costs between Sydney and Hobart.
Household income also varies between regions and when housing costs are expressed as a proportion of income, regional differences are moderated to some extent. For example, housing costs for all capital cities combined were 34% higher than in the rest of Australia ($263 compared with $197) but the proportion of income spent on housing costs was no higher (both 14%).