Is Australia's home-ownership rate really stable? An examination of changebetween 1975 and 1994

Australia has exhibited a remarkably stable home-ownership rate of 70 per c ent for over thee decades. However, this paper questions whether this rate is sustainable. Decomposition techniques based on tenure choice models are used to provide evidence of changing homeownership patterns in Australia be tween 1975 and 1994, The results indicate a distinct change in home-ownersh ip propensities which is neither uniform across age-groups, nor uniform for different household types with both the same and with different levels of income. A number of tentative explanations are proposed, each of which prov ides the basis for further research on the factors affecting household tenu re decisions. This is essential if the potential for a significant decline in home-ownership is to be seen as a matter of concern.