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Greater Capital Cities

Dwelling type

In Greater Capital Cities, 34.5% of the dwellings were medium or high density, compared to 28% in Australia.

Dwelling Type is an important determinant of Greater Capital Cities'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 Greater Capital Cities.

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
Greater Capital Cities - Dwellings (Enumerated)20212016Change
Dwelling typeNumber%Australia %Number%Australia %2016 to 2021
Separate house4,400,95964.870.34,039,71666.071.1+361,243
Medium density1,315,88919.417.31,253,90020.517.9+61,989
High density1,027,77415.111.0768,94712.69.1+258,827
Caravans, cabin, houseboat15,7590.20.818,3600.31.0-2,601
Other18,8200.30.321,9080.40.5-3,088
Not stated12,3310.20.321,2770.30.5-8,946
Total Private Dwellings6,791,532100.0100.06,124,108100.0100.0+667,424
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Dwelling type
Greater Capital Cities20212016Change
Dwelling typeNumber%Australia %Number%Australia %2016 to 2021
Occupied private dwellings10,637,82195.090.29,644,40494.889.3+993,417
Unoccupied private dwellings554,6875.09.6519,4255.110.5+35,262
Non private dwellings8,8610.10.28,2390.10.2+622
Total dwellings11,201,369100.0100.010,172,068100.0100.0+1,029,301
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information

Dominant groups

In 2021, there were 4,400,959 separate houses in the area, 1,315,889 medium density dwellings, and 1,027,774 high density dwellings.

Analysis of the types of dwellings in Greater Capital Cities in 2021 shows that 64.8% of all dwellings were separate houses; 19.4% were medium density dwellings, and 15.1% were in high density dwellings, compared with 70.3%, 17.3%, and 11.0% in the Australia respectively.

In 2021, a total of 95.0% of the dwellings in Greater Capital Cities were occupied on Census night, compared to 90.2% in Australia. The proportion of unoccupied dwellings was 5.0%, which is smaller compared to that found in Australia (9.6%).

Emerging groups

The total number of dwellings in Greater Capital Cities increased by 1,029,301 between 2016 and 2021.

The largest changes in the type of dwellings found in Greater Capital Cities between 2016 and 2021 were:

  • Separate house (+361,243 dwellings)
  • High density (+258,827 dwellings)
  • Medium density (+61,989 dwellings)
  • Other (-3,088 dwellings)

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