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Baby boomer parents blamed for low home ownership levels: report

By Staff Reporter
15 September 2009 | 9 minute read

Despite positive construction data, a boost to the government’s first home owners grant and relatively low interest rates, Australia’s housing market is in a ‘very dangerous and unstable situation’ a new report has found.

According to a study of national home ownership rates - drawn from consensus data by researchers at Flinders University, low to middle income earners face a multitude of problems when trying to break into the property market.

The study found that home ownership had fallen 15 per cent between 1986 and 2006 for low income earners over 45 and medium income earners under 45.

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While adjunct professor and author of the report, Joe Flood, said the first home owners grant had boosted home purchases for people under the age of 25, many low income earners between the ages of 25 and 44 were unlikely to ever own a home because their baby boomer parents had spent their inheritance and house prices are currently very high.

“If rises in national income continue to disappear into higher house prices as they did during the study period, Australia will have to get used to being a country of low home ownership, people living with their parents, and small houses by international standards,” Mr Flood said.

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