Academy of Social Sciences in Australia
Housing: mirror and mould for Australian society
Professor Andrew Beer
March 2008
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Introduction
Professor Andrew Beer
This is the third in a series of essays based on data from the 2006 Census, produced in cooperation with the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Australian society is changing in response to social, economic, demographic and policy processes that affect all dimensions of life, including housing. These changes raise important questions about how Australians see themselves both at home and abroad and how we think of our housing.
Public representations of Australia are no longer solely focused on the perhaps mythical 'quarter acre block', as reflected in popular television programs such as 'The Block' and, to a certain extent, 'Big Brother'. At the same time, home and housing continues to occupy an important place within the national psyche with home renovation/lifestyle programs and magazines such as 'Renovation Rescue', 'Better Homes and Gardens' dominating both the print and television media. Indeed, Fiona Allon at the Centre for Cultural Research at the University of Western Sydney has suggested that we have become a 'Renovation Nation'2. Even in the midst of global economic turmoil we cannot escape the fact that the business of buying, selling, renovating, demolishing and building homes has a prominent place within Australian society. The stimulation of housing markets through the doubling of the First Home Owners Grant has been an important part of the Rudd Labor Government's response to crisis in the world's financial markets. A whole new lexicon has been invented over the last decade to describe new ways of dealing and operating in the housing market: a home to be demolished and replaced with a more expensive property is now a 'knockdown'; the process of reconfiguring the home is called a 'renno'; while the real estate industry now offers 'executive apartments' or 'luxury executive apartments' - never apartments3 - and 'lifestyle concepts'.
There can be no denying that the way Australians live in their home and interact with the housing market has changed dramatically over the last two decades. Home is no longer simply a place to be 'safe and sound'4 but is instead a part of a much more dynamic and fastpaced society. We 'transition' through housing, matching the dwelling within which we live to our employment circumstances, stage in the lifecycle, friendships and consumption aspirations5. One way of thinking about this set of processes is to focus on the idea of an individual's or household's housing career or housing history. That is, the set of housing circumstances individuals, families and households occupy through their lifetime6. The contrast between past and present attitudes to, and consumption of, housing can be represented schematically (Figure 1.1). What this figure attempts to show is that thirty or forty years ago the employment and life histories of many Australians were marked by a degree of certainty and predictability. Employment and marriage were long term commitments, home ownership was the 'natural' tenure for virtually everyone at some stage in their life, and the processes of caring for others followed a reasonably uniform pattern. In post-industrial Australia, however, much has changed. Many social phenomena that were previously constant and unchanging - employment, forming a relationship, place of residence - are now much more dynamic, with profound implications for the operation of the housing market and individuals' transitions through the dwelling stock. Divorce or separation, periods of unemployment or underemployment, the provision of care to older or disabled relatives, the receipt of an inheritance and living into 'old old' age all have a significant impact on how we as individuals and a society interact with housing. It is worth reflecting on the fact that 42 per cent of marriages in Australia end in divorce7 and that relationship breakdown is frequently a precursor for falling out of home ownership and, in some instances, for becoming homeless. These changes generate a significant challenge for Australian society and Australian governments because, while our economy and society can change rapidly, the housing stock is both immobile and difficult to modify without substantial cost. Moreover, the costs of bad housing and bad housing policies can be profound with respect to the educational attainment of children, the health of the population and social cohesion.
Clearly there are profound changes taking place in the Australian housing system and Australian society needs to better understand these changes in order to adequately plan for the future. We also need information on, and an understanding of, what is happening in the housing market to help us provide services that meet needs. Even as individuals it is important that we have a good grasp of the shifts and trends in the housing market so we can make sense of the changes that surround us. The release of data from the 2006 Census presents a unique opportunity to take stock of what is happening with Australians and their housing. For professional housing researchers the Census represents the 'gold standard' for housing data as it is the most comprehensive and uniform enumeration available. Researchers in other developed economies have access to information sources unavailable in Australia, such as the English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland House Condition Surveys which have been undertaken since 19678. On the other hand, those in Australia with an interest in housing matters have access to the Survey of Income and Housing Costs, as well as the benefit of a five-yearly Census. Other nations such as the UK, Ireland and the USA have a decade-long interval between their population censuses. Every five years Australian housing researchers can therefore assess both the direction and rate of change in the construction and use of housing.
This paper makes use of the 2006 and two previous Censuses in order to present a snapshot of the evolution of Australian housing and highlight the changes in the way Australians consume housing. In particular, this essay pays attention to the ways in which housing reflects broader societal change while at the same time moulding the future of our nation. There is a focus on the degree of fit between the housing stock and the changing Australian households, including developments in family formation, the number of persons living in each home, the ageing of the population and the different outcomes confronting men and women in the housing market. Along the way the essay also considers issues of housing affordability and the processes through which the current housing affordability 'crisis' is shaping both the ways in which we live as a nation and the type of society we are becoming.
About the author
Andrew Beer is the Director of the Flinders Institute for Housing, Urban and Regional Research and has previously served as the Director of the Southern Research Centre, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Andrew is currently a Board member of the Regional Studies Association and was previously a Leverhulme Fellow at the University of Ulster and a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth. Over the past 15 years he has undertaken a range of research projects on housing affordability, regional housing, disability and housing, and housing transitions. Professor Beer has also consulted widely with a range of government and non-government organisations.
Last modified: 2 November 2009.