LONDON -- For the past several years, Australians have been growing increasingly fed up with the availability of good, affordable housing where they live. But in 2024, the record-low 22% who were satisfied with the housing situation and the record-high 76% who were dissatisfied illustrate a level of frustration unseen in most wealthy economies.
The causes of Australia’s current housing crisis are complex. Housing supply is not keeping pace with increasing demand for several reasons, including historic underinvestment in public housing, high levels of immigration, and pandemic-related delays in construction. As such, Australia has developed a significant housing deficit in recent years, and its housing stock lags below the average for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.
The rising affordability crisis is stark. Between 2002 and 2024, the house price-to-income ratio almost doubled, with the average house in Australia now costing nearly nine times the average household income. Rent has more than doubled over a similar period.
The result is a limited and expensive choice of housing options, which affects younger people and low-income households the most, as they have fewer economic resources to combat the hike in prices.
Malaise in Australia’s Housing Market Stands Out
Australians are uniquely dissatisfied with housing compared with residents of other high-income countries. While people across OECD countries are typically dissatisfied with the availability of good, affordable housing where they live (with a median of 50% dissatisfied vs. 43% satisfied), only Türkiye ranks higher for dissatisfaction than Australia.
Dissatisfaction with affordable housing is not only a problem in advanced economies. However, Australia’s dissatisfaction in 2024 stands out among rates measured worldwide over the past decade. Aside from Türkiye in 2024, only Gabon in 2014 (80%) has expressed greater dissatisfaction than Australia in the past 10 years.
Australians’ malaise with affordable housing bucks the trend of other community infrastructure and services, about which people remain highly positive. Clear majorities remain satisfied with the quality of healthcare (71%), schools (66%), roads and highways (60%), and public transportation (61%) in the city or area where they live -- just not housing (22%). The gaps between satisfaction with housing and these other community basics have never been wider.
Housing Crisis Hits Young, Working-Age Australians Hardest
Satisfaction with the availability of good, affordable housing in Australia has fallen across all age groups in recent years, but particularly so among adults of working age. In 2024, 16% of adults aged 18 to 34 were satisfied, with one in five adults aged 35 to 64 (20%) expressing satisfaction.
Young people have been hit especially hard by the housing crisis. Homeownership levels among young adults have fallen to record lows, and the average age of a first-time buyer has risen to around 35 from 25 since the turn of the century. While most older Australians already own their home, young people are facing an uphill struggle to get onto the housing ladder -- or even get by in an increasingly hostile rental market.
Since Gallup started asking people worldwide about their satisfaction with the availability of good, affordable housing in 2006, the 16% satisfaction rate recorded among 18- to 34-year-olds in Australia is among the lowest totals ever measured. Other lows include Hong Kong in 2019 (11% of those aged 18 to 34 were satisfied), Mongolia in 2012 (12%), Iran in 2008 (13%) and Türkiye in 2024 (15%).
In another marker of how widespread the malaise with Australia’s housing crisis has become, 35% of people aged 65 and older are currently satisfied with the availability of affordable housing in their area, even though more than four in five own their own home, according to the 2021 Census.
Bottom Line
There is some hope that the situation will soon improve. The government has financed $25 billion in housing investments to roll out over the next decade. This includes investments in public housing, rent and homeownership assistance, as well as a bonus program granted to states and territories that surpass their building targets. If successful, this effort could help boost supply and affordability, helping to rebalance the market.
However, for now, people in Australia -- particularly younger adults of working age -- are historically dissatisfied with the availability of affordable housing in their local area.
For many decades, the “Australian Dream” has been built upon the ideal of home ownership as a marker of progress, success and stability. It could be turning into something closer to a nightmare.
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