The new data shows that the face of Australia is changing with the increase in the migrant community. The majority of Indian migrants are coming on skilled visas - or on family visas - and they are more likely to become new homeowners.
According to figures released by the , Over half of the permanent migrants, over (54 per cent) and aged 15 years were buying or owned their own home.
Indian migrants are the largest group to come to Australia - around 19% of 2.2 million people who arrived since January 2000. Most are professionals in the fields of healthcare, IT and engineering, and as such, as more likely to buy.
Laurie Nowell Media Manager, AMES Australia, says "so all of the 54% of the migrants have arrived in Australia, in this century had bought or are buying home and many of these people are from India."
It's an achievement
When migrants move to a new country they want to put down roots, They want to establish, and a fundamental way of doing this is to own a home.
Professor Supriya, Sociology of Communications, RMIT University, says Indian migrants prefer to buy a house than renting. She explains the sociological aspect of this topic.
When migrants come to a new country, they want to take a stake in that county so that the migrant can have the sense of belonging. "As a general migrant once you have your home, now you feel OK, I own a home here - now I belong here," Professor Supriya says.
" As a general migrant once you have your home, now you feel OK, I own a home here - now I belong here," -Professor Supriya says.
Family bonding is firm among Indian migrants so for them to buy a home is a priority, because they want to make sure that if their family wants to visit them in Australia, they can provide them with a place to live.
It is always challenging for the migrants to settle down in a new country, pay off their loans and get a mortgage. But Indians have had a habit of saving for generations.
Source: flickr/houseofjoyphotos/5810687168, (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"I have seen many migrants work hard - do three or more odd jobs, and they think twice before spending " Professor Supriya told SBS Gujarati.
Indian migrants do not need to rely upon their saving only; they can ask the help from their parents. Professor Supriya explained that in the Indian family system there is a known aspect of family money. As per that practice, the money flows from parents to children and children to parents. In many cases, the parents of Indian migrants are helping them financially to buy or to put security deposit to buy a house or even to start a business.
"In Indian culture, the morality of the money in the family is that it is not just a parents responsibility to help their children, but it is also a duty of children to help parents. And now when the exchange control is relaxed, the Indian middle class is going well. There is a capacity to help. " - Professor Supriya
To own a house is a mark of status so far as Indian social spect or psychology is a concern. Professor Supriya explains that once the migrant buys a home, they feel to have achieved one of the most important goals of their life as well the family thinks the investment has bee well worth it. " It is a congratulatory thing all around. When you go to India, the first thing they ask you is the kind of the job you do, and another thing is he or she has a big house with three or four bedroom and media room and garden and in Indian society its the mark of achievement."
So far as affordability is a concern, at first Indians want to be surrounded by their community or live with their group. In many cases, they share accommodation, transport, bills etc. with this sharing habits also they end up saving more, and all these go toward, a future financial goal such as buying a home. Another thing is, Indians generally prefer to enter the home market by purchasing a property on the outer edges of the cities or developing suburbs of cities.
Professor Supriya told SBS Gujarati, "You can see the very different pattern of settlement, this is because of affordability but also because they want to have a family home. sometimes a group of people- friends buy property in a developing suburb."
Economic contribution
With the need to build more houses across the country, thousands of direct and indirect jobs have been created.
Laurie Nowell, Media Manager, AMES Australia, says "We can see the increase in construction of homes around the county. And I think the migrants have a made a substantial contribution to Australian economy when the trend is showcasing that the migrants are the group that likely to go for homeownership helps to boost this sector.
Our dream come true. Image
Jigna and Rajiv came to Australia with their two-year-old daughter in 2005. Jigna had signed a deal for a house and land package in Adelaide in 2016, and the family recently moved into their new house. Jigna says though it was challenging for them to get into the property market, they had made it their top priority. They have worked hard since today to have their dream home.
“It is a perception that Sydney and Melbourne are expensive cities to live in, but Adelaide is expensive as well. We signed the deal in when the property prices were high, But we had to do it," Jigna told SBS Gujarati.
"Rajiv and I work in shifts so that we can save on child care and other small expenses. We had to move houses now and then when we were renting. So, and It was a common sense to add a few hundred dollars every month towards mortgage than to pay rent. So we took a tough decision."
Jigna and Rajiv did not have a permanent job, in the beginning, she says, “we didn’t have a job right in the beginning, and we had to do casual and contract jobs before we finally got a job with MNC. That’s why it took us longer to get a property. We inquired about the property price and mortgage when the property wasn’t as expensive, but it was out of our reach then as well.” she says.
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