The sequence of housing stages that an individual moves through over their lifetime forms
the ‘housing career’ of that individual. While each housing career follows a unique path, a
set of general forces act to influence the overall direction taken by individual housing
careers. These drivers include:
− Housing tenure preferences and housing market signals (house prices, rents etc.);
− Household formation aspirations and outcomes;
− Labour market effects (wages, employment, unemployment, and retirement);
− Lifetime wealth accumulation objectives, and,
− Housing assistance, income support, tax, and welfare programs.
• In this project, we map out how these (and other) drivers influence the trajectory of
Australian housing careers. We focus attention on three distinct life-cycle stages: (1) Early
adulthood when the first, independent housing career transitions are made (ages 15-34);
(2) the middle age stage (ages 35-49); and (3) The mature phase of the life cycle (ages 50-
69).
• The aim of the study is to increase our understanding of what drives housing outcomes in
Australia and what determines the structure of Australian housing careers.