Based on trends obtained from census data to 2001, a fall in rates of home ownership has been observed among Australians aged less than 35 years. Debate has arisen as to whether this fall is due to changing affordability (with the implication that, in the future, a much higher percentage of Australians will never be able to afford to purchase a place of their own), or delays in family formation among young Australians (with the implication that those that wish to become home owners will be able to do so later in life at least to the same levels as previous generations of Australians). In this report, Jennifer Baxter and Peter McDonald argue the case for the second of these explanations.