The number of people who own their home outright to the number of those with mortgages has fallen significantly in Melbourne over the last ten years.
Census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that between 2001 and 2006 the number of outright homeowners fell from 42 per cent to 33 per cent and then again in 2011 to 31 per cent.
As the Real Estate Institute of Victoria reports, this is in significant contrast to the 40 years between 1961 and 2001, which showed outright homeowners holding steady at roughly 42 per cent.
These sudden changes in the last decade bring up questions of structure and affordability. While some difference is due to be expected over the years, this seemingly quick change has some real estate bodies worried about the nature of ownership.
The total of homes that are owned outright or in the process of purchasing has also dropped from 73 per cent in 1961 to 73 per cent in 2001 and then to 70 per cent ten years later.
It was also recently reported that there are much more renters in the Victorian capital than there used to be.
