HOUSING COSTS

In this publication, housing costs are defined as the sum of rent payments; rate payments (water and general); and mortgage or unsecured loan payments (if the initial purpose of the loan was primarily to buy, add, or alter the dwelling).

Mean weekly housing costs for different tenure and landlord types vary significantly. The complexities in measuring different types of housing costs mean that care should be taken when comparing housing costs and affordability ratios for different tenure types.

Table 1.1 in the first data cube presents mean weekly housing costs for all households by various characteristics such as tenure and landlord type since 1994–95.

In 2015–16 owners with a mortgage paid an average of $452 per week on housing costs. This has not changed significantly from 2013–14 in real terms.

For owners without a mortgage, the mean weekly housing costs were $51 a week, representing the cost of rates (water and general) paid by those who own their home outright. This is a rise of $3 in real terms from 2013–14.

Households renting from private landlords paid an average of $381 a week. This has not changed significantly from 2013–14 in real terms.

Households renting from state and territory housing authorities paid an average of $167 per week, an increase of $15 per week from 2013–14 in real terms.

The graph below shows mean weekly housing costs at national level over a longer time period for the tenure and landlord types mentioned above. Between 1995–96 and 2015–16, private renters experienced a 56% (or $137) increase in average weekly housing costs, after adjustment for inflation. There has been an overall increase of 36% (or $119) for owners with a mortgage and 64% (or $65) for public renters over the same period.


Housing costs – State and Territories

The mean and median weekly housing costs for each of the states and territories are presented in data cube 13 (tables 13.1 and 13.2 respectively). Housing costs are not uniform across Australia. There are significant differences between some states and territories when compared with mean weekly housing costs for Australia.

For all households, in 2015–16, mean weekly housing costs in the Northern Territory ($384), the Australian Capital Territory ($324), and New South Wales ($311) were significantly higher than the national average ($290) whereas those in Tasmania ($199), South Australia ($235) and Victoria ($277) were significantly lower.

Mean weekly housing costs for renters with a private landlord in the Northern Territory ($535), New South Wales ($440), and the Australian Capital Territory ($424) were significantly higher than the national average ($381) whereas those in Tasmania ($253), South Australia ($295), Queensland ($346), and Victoria ($359) were significantly lower.

For owners with a mortgage, mean housing costs were significantly higher in the Northern Territory ($536) and New South Wales ($488) than for Australia ($452) whereas those in Tasmania ($344) and South Australia ($380) were significantly lower.