Public housing in Australia is one part of social housing and the other is community housing. Public housing is provided by departments of state governments.
Australia's property market is considered to be among the most expensive in the world, with Sydney and Melbourne regularly featuring among the list of least affordable housing markets, along with some US and Canadian cities. One measure of affordability is the household debt-to-income ratio.
Australia is home to a diverse range of housing options, each with its own unique features, costs and terminology. Among the property types are houses, apartments (or units), semi detached or duplex homes, villas, terrace houses, townhouses and granny flats.
3 Bedroom House
The most common Australian home layout, three bedrooms, is on average around 175 metres squared. This fluctuates slightly and many 3 bedroom homes will be above or smaller than the national average. Average family size 3 bedroom homes can usually be found on a block size of 474 square metres.
Australia's current housing crisis is driven by the nation's unique demographics and a shortage of available residential land near jobs and services, with the impact of interest rates and government homebuyer subsidies often overstated.
Over 1 million persons in Australia live in housing in 'poor' condition, with 100 000 of them living in 'very poor' or 'derelict' housing, according to an analysis of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) by Baker, et al (2016).
Analysts say open borders and increased migration have driven demand for real estate – and increases in rental prices. What matters for rents, as for any price, is the demand for and the supply of the product being priced. More demand (more renters wanting properties) and the price climbs.
Average rent around the country
A 2023 CoreLogic rental report lists the median weekly rent as $570 across all dwellings, or $594 in capital cities. Continuing on a national scale but looking at dwelling types, we can see that median weekly rent is currently: Nationally: $582 for a house.
Australia has one of the highest standards of living in the world. Excellent job prospects, a strong economy and world-class financial services make it a desirable place to live and work.
The number of residential dwellings in Australia rose by 52,000 to 11,020,300, and the mean price of residential dwellings rose by $8,500 to $896,000, this quarter. The mean price of residential dwellings in NSW ($1,150,400) remains the highest in the country, followed by the ACT ($951,800) and Victoria ($898,300).
Front master bedrooms are a popular choice as they provide you with peace of mind. One, you can glance out the window to identify visitors. Two, if you have young children, your bedroom won't be too far away from theirs so you can keep a closer eye on them.
Some US homes have a higher seismic loading and some a higher snow loading (the weight of snow a structure must bear on it's roof) and two storey homes are slightly more common in the US. Australian homes are fractionally larger on average but, overall, there's really not a big difference.
The United States had overtaken Australia in 2013 for the largest homes title. COVID-19 has changed that with newly-built Australian houses now the biggest in the world again, with an average size of 235.8 square metres compared with 233.1 square metres in the US.
The Australian public accesses care within the public health system for free or at a lower cost through Medicare (funded by tax). The private system includes health service providers that are owned and managed privately, such as private hospitals, specialist medical and allied health, and pharmacies.
What is the average rent for a unit in Australia? As for capital city unit prices, the picture is much the same. Sydney is the most expensive cities for renters with the median unit price coming in at $670 per week, followed by Canberra ($550 per week), Brisbane ($530 per week), and Darwin ($515 per week).
Realistically in Australia, most people experiencing homelessness are hidden from sight. They could be sleeping in a car, couch surfing or enduring the night on public buses. They may have shelter but no permanent place to make a home. These are the “hidden homeless”.
Australians collected a higher median wealth per adult than anywhere else in the world at $US273,900 ($A390,870) – nearly three times the median wealth of $US93,270 ($A133,100) in the US. Australia was followed on the rich list by Belgium and New Zealand, with the US trailing behind at number 18.
The National Minimum Wage
This is the minimum pay rate provided by the Fair Work Act 2009 and is reviewed each year. As of 1 July 2023 the National Minimum Wage is $23.23 per hour or $882.80 per week.
While Australia is generally cheaper than the US, it's still important to understand the differences in pricing between the two countries. When comparing the cost of living, Australia ranks 10th in the world, while the US ranks 6th.
Food: Your average meal in Australia will run you about 20 AUD. A fancy meal at a more upscale restaurant costs closer to 60 AUD. Even McDonald's is expensive—a value meal is about 13 AUD.
That median rent figure of $557.5 per week, multiplied by 4.34 (the average number of weeks in a month) becomes $2,419.55 per month. The cheapest (Adelaide) and most expensive (Sydney) cities to rent in would cost a median of $2,039.8 and $2,777.6 respectively.
Normally, rent is paid on a fortnightly basis, however, some tenants and landlords prefer weekly, 4 weekly or calendar monthly rental payments.
Australian house prices are considerably higher than in many other comparable countries, largely due to factors such as supply and demand imbalance, tax policies, and low-interest rates.
“The biggest problem is insecurity – long-term leases are rare and renters live with constant uncertainty about whether they will have to move. Maintenance is often a headache and there are few incentives for the landlord to improve properties, for example through energy retrofitting.”
Home ownership data from the 2021 Census show a home ownership rate of 67%, down from 70% in 2006. While the home ownership rate remained around 67–70% from the early 1970's, the rate for different age groups has varied markedly over this time.