Sydney, Australia — A controversial new report just released by researchers at Flinders University states that the number of home owners in Australia has fallen dramatically over a decade, in no small part because the average house price has trebled since 1996.

Although Australia has had strong economic growth and relatively low interest rates between 1996 and 2006, ownership of homes grew by only 0.8% and fell by 15% for both low income earners over the age of 45 and medium to higher income earners under 45.

Australia has the most expensive housing in the world amid very tight housing and land markets and little prospect of restoring the balance,’ said Flinders adjunct professor Joe Flood in the report.
 
Flood points out that the only solution is through a US style price collapse, or a complete re-evaluation of the situation and a coordinated effort by the government and the financial institutions to restore the balance between housing supply and demand .

In a contrary view, David Airey, president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia, said there was still a secure supply of housing.