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Introduction

Introduction Home ownership—the great Australian dream—seems to be increasingly out of reach for many Australians. Increasing house prices, especially in relation to wages, have long been on the front pages of newspapers and at the centre of policy debates about affordable housing. A host of policy measures—from shared equity schemes over government‐backed loan guarantees for selected demographics to tax incentives for rent‐to‐buy schemes—aim to make it achievable for first‐home buyers to purchase a home. And yet, home ownership rates over the life course have consistently dropped for successive generations since the 1970s (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2023).Long‐term renting thus becomes a more and more common experience among younger Australians. But can the private rental market offer the security, stability and quality of living space that long‐term renters need? If buying affordable housing is out of reach for many, are affordable rental properties available as an alternative?After a drop in rents in the first half of 2020, weekly rents have begun to increase again over the last two years; in particular rents paid by new tenants increased by 14 per cent over the year to February 2023 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2023). This increase far exceeds overall inflation and is at http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Australian Economic Review Wiley

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2023 The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, Faculty of Business and Economics.
ISSN
0004-9018
eISSN
1467-8462
DOI
10.1111/1467-8462.12517
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Home ownership—the great Australian dream—seems to be increasingly out of reach for many Australians. Increasing house prices, especially in relation to wages, have long been on the front pages of newspapers and at the centre of policy debates about affordable housing. A host of policy measures—from shared equity schemes over government‐backed loan guarantees for selected demographics to tax incentives for rent‐to‐buy schemes—aim to make it achievable for first‐home buyers to purchase a home. And yet, home ownership rates over the life course have consistently dropped for successive generations since the 1970s (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2023).Long‐term renting thus becomes a more and more common experience among younger Australians. But can the private rental market offer the security, stability and quality of living space that long‐term renters need? If buying affordable housing is out of reach for many, are affordable rental properties available as an alternative?After a drop in rents in the first half of 2020, weekly rents have begun to increase again over the last two years; in particular rents paid by new tenants increased by 14 per cent over the year to February 2023 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2023). This increase far exceeds overall inflation and is at

Journal

The Australian Economic ReviewWiley

Published: Jun 1, 2023

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