Powered by .id (informed decisions) for Australia
.id community is an evidence base for over 250 local government areas in Australia and New Zealand, helping you make informed decisions.
LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn Victoria, 27.8% of the dwellings were medium or high density, compared to 34% in Greater Melbourne.
Dwelling Type is an important determinant of Victoria's residential role and function. A greater concentration of higher density dwellings is likely to attract more young adults and smaller households, often renting. Larger, detached or separate dwellings are more likely to attract families and prospective families. The residential built form often reflects market opportunities or planning policy, such as building denser forms of housing around public transport nodes or employment centres.
Dwelling Type statistics should be viewed in conjunction with Household Size, Household Types, Housing Tenure and Age Structure for a more complete picture of the housing market in Victoria.
If you're looking at this data to prepare a housing strategy, learn more here.
Q:
Derived from the Census:
'Dwelling Structure is derived from the ABS address register supplemented with information from Census Field Officers.'
| Dwelling structure | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria - Dwellings (Enumerated) | 2021 | 1996 | Change | ||||
| Dwelling type | Number | % | Greater Melbourne % | Number | % | Greater Melbourne % | 1996 to 2021 |
| Separate house | 2,004,789 | 71.5 | 65.1 | 1,381,564 | 77.9 | 74.2 | +623,225 |
| Medium density | 514,839 | 18.4 | 21.6 | 272,528 | 15.4 | 18.1 | +242,311 |
| High density | 265,478 | 9.5 | 12.8 | 56,345 | 3.2 | 4.5 | +209,133 |
| Caravans, cabin, houseboat | 9,083 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 9,831 | 0.6 | 0.3 | -748 |
| Other | 7,686 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 10,540 | 0.6 | 0.5 | -2,854 |
| Not stated | 3,789 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 42,397 | 2.4 | 2.5 | -38,608 |
| Total Private Dwellings | 2,805,664 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,773,205 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +1,032,459 |
| Dwelling type | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria | 2021 | 1996 | Change | ||||
| Dwelling type | Number | % | Greater Melbourne % | Number | % | Greater Melbourne % | 1996 to 2021 |
| Occupied private dwellings | 2,507,636 | 89.2 | 90.2 | 1,591,657 | 89.8 | 92.0 | +915,979 |
| Unoccupied private dwellings | 298,029 | 10.6 | 9.6 | 177,063 | 10.0 | 7.9 | +120,966 |
| Non private dwellings | 5,110 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 4,492 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +618 |
| Total dwellings | 2,810,775 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,773,212 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +1,037,563 |
Dominant groups
In 2021, there were 2,004,789 separate houses in the area, 514,839 medium density dwellings, and 265,478 high density dwellings.
Analysis of the types of dwellings in Victoria in 2021 shows that 71.5% of all dwellings were separate houses; 18.4% were medium density dwellings, and 9.5% were in high density dwellings, compared with 65.1%, 21.6%, and 12.8% in the Greater Melbourne respectively.
In 2021, a total of 89.2% of the dwellings in Victoria were occupied on Census night, compared to 90.2% in Greater Melbourne. The proportion of unoccupied dwellings was 10.6%, which is larger compared to that found in Greater Melbourne (9.6%).
Emerging groups
The total number of dwellings in Victoria increased by 1,037,563 between 1996 and 2021.
The largest changes in the type of dwellings found in Victoria between 1996 and 2021 were:
- Separate house (+623,225 dwellings)
- Medium density (+242,311 dwellings)
- High density (+209,133 dwellings)
- Other (-2,854 dwellings)
DISCLAIMER: While all due care has been taken to ensure that the content of this website is accurate and current, there may be errors or omissions in it and no legal responsibility is accepted for the information and opinions in this website.
Please view our Privacy Policy, Terms of use and Legal notices. Stats NZ Data and the copyright in the Stats NZ Data remains the property of the Statistics New Zealand.
The copyright in the way .id has modified, transformed or reconfigured the Stats NZ Data as published on this website remains the property of .id. Stats NZ Data can be accessed on the Statistics New Zealand website at www.stats.govt.nz. Unless otherwise specified, content that Stats NZ produce is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. For further information see https://www.stats.govt.nz/about-us/copyright/.