Independent economist Tarric Brooker has published some fantastic charts showing the dramatic change in home ownership over the twenty years to 2021.
The next chart shows the proportion of Australian homes owned outright by age demographic over time:
As you can see, the proportion of Australians owning their homes outright has fallen sharply for those aged under 65, whereas older retirement-aged Australians have been less impacted.
The next chart from Brooker shows the proportion of Australians renting by age cohort:
While the share of Australians renting has increased across all age groups, once again, Australians aged under 65 have been most impacted, whereas retirement-aged Australians have been least effected.
Given that just under 70% of retirement-aged Australians (aged 65+) own their homes outright, they are obviously most insulated from soaring mortgage costs and rents.
They have also been well insulated from the surge in the income tax take, which has hit working Australians hard amid inflation-induced bracket creep and the expiry of the $1500 low and middle-income tax offset (LMITO):
Source: Alex Joiner
The above data explains why young households aged under 40 have slashed their consumption spending, whereas older retiree households have lifted their spending above inflation:
Source: CBA
Working Australians aged under 65 are bearing the brunt of budget repair, while also drowning under soaring mortgage repayments and rents.
