Canberra home owners hold the highest proportion of mortgages of all the states and territories.
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Property experts say this is not surprising, due to the expensive housing market in the territory.
Data issued by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed that 38.9 per cent of home owners in the ACT have a mortgage and 28.4 per cent own their residences outright.
The Perspectives on Regional Australia report, based on census data from 2006 and 2011, indicated that home ownership rates declined in all states and territories between the two collection dates.
At the time of the 2011 census, a little more than two-thirds of Australian households owned their home (outright or with a mortgage).
The proportion of households that owned their dwelling outright decreased between census nights from 34 per cent to 32.1 per cent, while the proportion of households that had a mortgage increased from 34.1 per cent to 34.9 per cent.
Tasmania recorded the highest home ownership rate of all states and territories at 70.4 per cent, and the Northern Territory the lowest with 46.2 per cent.
The ACT recorded 67.3 per cent for home ownership rates.
Australian Property Monitors senior economist Dr Andrew Wilson said Canberra had a dense middle market, which meant home buyers had to meet a higher entry point than in other cities. He said more finance was required to buy in the ACT and that translated to mortgages being held for longer.
The APM's quarterly housing report, issued last week, showed the territory had recorded its highest median house price of $576,248.
Real Estate Institute of the ACT president Michael Kumm said he was not shocked by the news but expected the ACT's record of mortgage ownership to change soon.
''It doesn't surprise me because we've got the highest average income, but we don't have the super wealthy,'' he said. Mr Kumm said there were a great number of baby boomers poised to retire who would pay off their mortgages as a priority.