Catch Me If You Can - A Tale of Homeownership, Australian Immigrants and Australian Natives

Abstract

Do immigrants ever catch-up with native Australians on housing outcomes? Are there any barriers that inhibits them closing the gap? This thesis aims to document the gap in homeownership between immigrants and natives in Australia and examine the sources behind the gap. Using 30 years of Census data, I document life-cycle housing profiles for immigrants and natives and find that the homeownership rates of for both these groups have been decreasing as birth cohorts get younger. My pseudo-panel analysis shows that early-life differences in homeownership between birth cohorts are not completely eliminated in later stages of the life cycle. I also find that immigrants only partially make up the deficit in homeownership to natives over time. Then, using an Australian micro dataset, I assess the determinants and driving forces behind homeownership and how they differ between immigrants and natives. I find that despite having similar observed characteristics, natives are still more likely to be homeowners. This suggests possible discrimination towards immigrants, or weaker preferences for homeownership amongst immigrants in Australia.