From country to city

In its January 2009 bulletin, A Picture of a Nation, the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirmed there has been a drastic Change in the rural to city population ratio...

In 1911, rural areas made up 42 per cent of the population; by 2006 this had dropped to just 12 per cent.

Unsurprisingly, Australia's coastal towns and cities have enjoyed sustained growth and by 2006, 77 per cent of the population resided within 50 kilometres of the Coast.

One thing hasn't changed, and that's Oz's desire for home ownership. Roughly 70 per cent of households own their home with or without a mortgage, and that figure has remained fairly consistent for 40 years.

What has significantly changed is the number of dwellings in comparison to the population.

In the 10 years to 2006, the number of private dwellings in Australia increased 45 per cent (about 2.6 million) but the number of people living in private dwellings increased by only 28 per cent in the same period. These figures represent what is a growing trend towards smaller household sizes.

In 2006, one in 10 people in Australia were living alone and this was clearly reflected in the boom in apartment development, most notably in Melbourne, the Southbank and Docklands precinct.

In Melbourne, the median price of a unit/apartment in the December quarter was £165,870, down 1.1 per cent from the previous quarter.

The most expensive suburbs for units and apartments by median were in Toorak (£279,935), Brighton (£278,500) and Port Melbourne (£260,000), and the most affordable suburbs by median price were in Footscray West and Frankston (both at £104.500).

Source: www.theage.com.au