Liquid Life, Solid Homes: Young People, Class and Homeownership in Australia

Abstract

This article examines the homeownership aspirations and plans of two groups of young Australian adults defined by their class position as ‘disadvantaged’ and ‘middle class’. We draw on Bauman’s idea of liquid modernity and ‘liquid life’ to frame our analysis. Despite being under less pressure to adopt socially prescribed adult transitions that applied to previous generations – a steady job, marriage, family and a house in the suburbs – young adults from both middle-class and disadvantaged backgrounds aspire to homeownership. In spite of an apparent multitude of choices and an increased emphasis on individual agency, the articulations of their aspirations and plans to achieve it, in the context of the uncertainties of ‘liquid life’, are strongly influenced by their class position, defined primarily through family background and education. The article uses qualitative data drawn from two projects conducted in Melbourne, Australia, 2007–2010.