The first release of data from the 2021 Census was published yesterday. We had a look for you to see what the data so far tells us about housing in Tasmania.

Since the last Census in 2016, the Tasmanian population has grown by 9.3%, while the number of private dwellings has increased by only 7%. This was partly alleviated by an increase in the average number of persons per household from 2.3 to 2.4. 

The number of households renting in Tasmania increased from 51,961 in 2016 (excluding tenants living rent-free) to 57,762 (11% increase). 

Sidenote: the number of households renting in Tasmania in 2016 was corrected down from 54,034 to 51,961 by excluding the 2,073 Tasmanian households that rented rent-free. 

In terms of percentages of renters v owners not much has changed; 26.3% of Tasmanians were renting in 2016, 26.4% were renting in 2021. What has increased however is the percentage of owners owning their property outright, from 35.7% to 37%. In other words, those, who already own property are becoming wealthier. 

A stark contrast is the payment for shelter between owners with a mortgage and tenants. Median monthly mortgage repayments increased from $1300 to $1313 or 1% over the five years between Censuses. The median weekly rent went up from $230 in 2016 to $290 in 2021 – an increase in median rent of 26%. 

It is no wonder housing stress is more prevalent in rental households than in mortgaged households. Of households renting in Tasmania 34.2% pay more than 30% of their income in rent, whereas only 10.1% of households with a mortgage pay more than 30% towards their mortgage. While both those percentages have decreased since 2016, rental stress in Tasmania sits slightly above the Australian average of 32.2%. However, mortgage stress is lower in Tasmania than in Australia as a whole.

Find the data used and look up more details here.