The weekly costs of buying a home versus renting have been thrown into stark contrast by new research from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The ABS tracked the cost of renting versus home ownership, with renters, on average, spending 20 per cent of their income on housing, compared to 16 per cent for owners with a mortgage.

The study found the average weekly housing costs for all Australian households were $311, but they varied significantly for different tenure types:

• $53 for owners without a mortgage
• $484 for owners with a mortgage
• $366 for renters.

The ABS found that nearly a third of households are renting – up from about a quarter 20 years ago – and that home ownership is at its lowest level since it started collating figures in 1994. 

About two-thirds (66 per cent) of Australian households either own their home or are buying it, compared with 70 per cent in 1998.

And the proportion of households that had paid off their mortgage had dropped sharply – from 40 per cent 20 years ago to 30 per cent  last year.

In other news for the housing market, the proportion of households slipping behind in mortgage repayments appears to have stabilised after a steady rise earlier in the year, the ABC reports.

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