Australia’s mortgage market has changed a lot since 1947, according to Commonwealth Bank’s Centenary Report into Home Ownership, conducted by renowned demographer Bernard Salt.
The findings include a significant rise in approved mortgages to 6.4 million in the 2000s from 2.9 million during the 1980s, and the advent of women achieving mortgage approvals without a male guarantor in 1971.
“People always talk about the great Australian dream, which is to own your own home, and the fact that these days fewer people are excluded from owning a home because they can borrow money is a good thing,” said Clive van Horen, General Manager of Home Loans at Commonwealth Bank.
“One of the interesting findings was that in 1947 the mix of people who owned, rented and had a mortgage was very different from what we have today,” noted van Horen.
Meanwhile, 30 percent of Australians took up mortgages in 2006 compared to just eight percent in 1947. However, the proportion of those who owned their own homes declined to 35 percent in 2006 from 47 percent in 1947.
Related Stories:
Property ads on UOB website called into question
HSBC offers lowest-rate mortgage deal in UK
US mortgage rates hover above record lows