Crowning Contentment – Australia's Happiest Homeowners Revealed

28 November 2024

• Owning your own home does lead to greater happiness
• Tasmanians are the happiest with their homes
• Older residents are happier with their homes irrespective of ownership status
• Over 80% of Australians declare their home is their happy place
• 85% of aspirational first-time buyers believe home ownership will make them happier

Choosing the right place to settle down is crucial to being happy with your home, according to Great Southern Bank’s latest No Place Like Home Report.

When Australian residents were asked to rate their home against factors including its location and condition, Tasmanians were revealed as the happiest with their overall living situation (54%), followed by:

• Australian Capital Territory (46%)
• South Australia (43%)
• Queensland (40%)
• Western Australia (40%)
• Northern Territory (36%)
• New South Wales (36%)
• Victoria (35%)

Australia’s southernmost state also led Australia on another happiness metric, with 74% of Tasmanian residents believing home ownership is key to their overall happiness.*

Tasmania: The apple of their isle

Megan Keleher, Chief Customer Officer at Great Southern Bank said: “Congratulations to Tasmania, crowned as Australia’s capital for happy homeowners. Clearly, it’s not only a beautiful state, but a great place to live. With South Australia coming in second place, lifestyle may also be playing a big role in where homeowners are most happy.

“While there are challenges to home ownership, this report shows that it also puts you on a path towards a happier future.

“Our purpose as a bank is to help all Australians to own their own home, which is why we provide a lot of support for people on their home ownership journey. I’d urge renters who are thinking about buying to get in contact with a bank or broker to explore their options.”

Official: Owning your own home does make you happy

The report revealed that home ownership does actually lead to greater happiness. Over half [54%] of Australians who owned their own home outright were happy with their living arrangements, compared to 27% of long-term renters.

The report also confirmed ‘home’ remains a driver of Australian happiness that only increases with age.

Insights showed that there is a clear link between home happiness and age, with 55% of Baby Boomers stating they are happy with their current living situation, compared to Gen X (39%), Millennial (34%) and Gen Z (32%).

Over 80% of Australians declare their home is their happy place, with 85% of aspirational first home buyers also believing that owning their own home will increase their happiness.

The ‘Happily’ wave is the latest in the Bank’s second annual No Place Like Home series, exploring long-term financial security and how sentiment shifts throughout the homeownership journey.

To learn more about the insights from the ‘Happily’ wave of the Great Southern Bank ‘No Place Like Home’ research report, read the full report

Ends

*74% of Tasmanians agree that home ownership is key to their overall happiness, followed by

• South Australian (73%)
• Western Australia (70%)
• ACT (69%)
• New South Wales (66%)
• Queensland (65%)
• Victoria (65%)
• Northern Territory (64%)