The number of unoccupied private dwellings in Ballarat has fallen by almost 1000 over five years, census statistics show, despite rapid growth.
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In the same amount of time, the total number of dwellings - houses, apartments, and townhouses - leapt by 5000.
Using census data from the City of Ballarat local government area, as of August 2021, there are 50,223 private dwellings in Ballarat, up from 45,115 in 2016 - that's an 11.3 per cent increase over five years, or about 2.26 per cent each year.
Our population, which is now at 113,763, grew slightly faster, at 11.8 per cent over five years.
The number of unoccupied dwellings fell from 4506, or 10.5 per cent, in 2016, to 3584, or 7.4 per cent.
The majority of new builds were separate houses, with the proportion of houses with four or more bedrooms going from 27.1 per cent in 2016 to 32.4 per cent in 2021, though the average number of bedrooms remains 3.1.
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The average household size was 2.4 people, the same as 2016, and the average dwelling has about two vehicles as well.
Of the 50,000 dwellings, outright ownership, mortgages, and rentals take up about a third each, the same proportions as 2016.
In terms of rent, the median weekly payment is now $295, up from $250 five years ago, while median monthly mortgage payments have gone up from $1350 to $1477.
The census goes into more detail in regard to the proportion of income that rent and mortgage payments take up as well.
In Ballarat, 31.6 per cent of renters are paying more than 30 per cent of their household income on rent - this cannot be compared to the 2016 census, as the criteria have changed.
This number is slightly higher than the rest of Victoria, which is at 31.6 per cent.
The majority of people paying mortgages are paying less than 30 per cent of their household income, at about 80 per cent.
There are 29,393 family households in Ballarat, 13,525 single or lone person households, and 1742 group households - these proportions have only shifted marginally in the past five years.
Economically, the median weekly household income has gone up to $1429, from $1160 in 2016.
For personal income, the median is at $743 per week and families are at $1871 - all three categories are below the state and national medians.
IN THE NEWS
The number of people providing unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition, or due to old age for the two weeks before census night has increased slightly, from 10,320 people to 13,110, and 14,103 people had done voluntary work through an organisation or group in the past 12 months.
You can dive into the numbers yourself via the Australian Bureau of Statistics' census dashboard online, and check out a snapshot of the Australia-wide figures here.
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