Housing as Asset‐Based Welfare in Australia

An Investigation Through a Consumption Lens

Bibliographic Data

ID11228232
AuthorsGraeme A Wood (0000-0002-1465-3016, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies RMIT University Melbourne Australia), Gavin A Wood (MIT University), Christopher Phelps (0000-0002-9437-1595, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance Curtin University Perth Australia), Silvia Salazar (0000-0002-8134-490X, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Curtin University Perth Australia), Rachel Ong (0000-0001-8557-8802, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance Curtin University Perth Australia), Rachel Ong ViforJ (Curtin University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-03-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAustralian Journal of Social Issues (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0157-6321 • E-ISSN: 1839-4655
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajs4.70101
OpenAlexW7134191415
LanguageEN
References cited46

Housing asset‐based welfare has long been a key component of Australia's social policy. This resonates with a parallel literature identifying a trade‐off between homeownership and the size of nations' welfare states, wherein owner‐occupiers in smaller welfare states tend to come to rely on housing wealth to meet many of their welfare needs, especially in old age. While still important, homeownership's role in old age is beginning to be challenged by Australia's maturing superannuation system. Furthermore, rising real house prices and financial market innovation have made housing wealth a liquid asset that can support consumption throughout the lifecycle. We empirically explore this changing welfare role by measuring the impact of housing wealth on discretionary and non‐discretionary consumer spending, as well as differential impacts across the consumption distribution. Our findings show that housing wealth effects matter more at higher consumption percentiles and are not used to support non‐discretionary spending on groceries and medical items. We discover evidence suggesting that a maturing superannuation system is beginning to challenge homeownership's welfare role, especially as a support for non‐discretionary spending that is relatively important in older households' budgets. Our evidence suggests that homeownership's role as a pillar helping to support welfare needs should be revisited

Asset (computer security · Consumer spending · Consumption (sociology · Differential (mechanical device · Project commissioning · Social Welfare · Welfare · Financial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis · Housing Market and Economics · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism

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Open DOIOpen Access