The data for the 2021 Census were released last Tuesday. It will take sometime to comb through all the data and learn all the lessons hidden within. Nevertheless, PowerHousing has been able to make an initial run at the housing data, which has been covered in the national media.
Here are some of the insights from the 2021 Census:
- The homeownership rate has increased from 65.43% in 2016 to 65.93% in 2021, although this is still below the 66.22% rate in 2001 or the rate in the 80s/70s.
- The proportion of unoccupied dwellings has fallen from 11.15% in 2016 to 10.12% in 2021. This still leaves one million homes unoccupied, which is difficult to justify given the enormous housing stress in the country.
- The average household size decline from 2.594 people in 2016 to 2.541 in 2021. This doesn’t seem like a lot, but it is enough to drive demand for an additional 190,000 homes over the intervening 5-years.
- The proportion of single person households has increased, whilst the proportion of couples has stalled and the proportion of 3 or person or large households has fallen.
- The proportion of houses with 4 or more bedrooms has increased notably between 2016 and 2021, out of step with the falling number of people per household.
This story was covered in the Australian, the Australian Financial Review and on ABC Radio. |
