ALL IN THE NUMBERS

If you are a mathematician, numerologist or statistician, you most likely love numbers, and if you are a prodigitalian, you’ll always be counting things.

One: The number of websites that existed in 1991.

One thousand: It takes counting to 1000 to find a number with the letter ‘a’ in it.

One million: How many dwellings were unoccupied on census night 2021.

Thirty million: It is projected that Australia’s population will surpass this figure by 2033.

There’s a lot of figuring out to do about housing in Australia right now.

Already, ultra-low vacancy rates combined with a low supply of new dwellings, high demand and a rising population are a perfect storm spinning Australia’s market into a rental crisis and there’s no end in sight.

For instance, one real estate investment firm has suggested that an estimated 570,000 apartments are needed to cover the next three years across Australia’s capital cities, but only 55,000 apartments are currently being built each year.

Fifty years ago, the greatest percentage of us wanted to achieve home ownership but now the numbers are suggesting something a little different. Now many younger business owners are leveraging their business acumen instead of pursuing their property dream.

In 1971, 64% of 30- to 34-year-olds were homeowners, but by 2021 this had fallen to 50%, with a similar drop for the 25-29 year old age group. Higher property prices, smaller household sizes, having a life partner, having children later or not at all are among the contributing factors.

While owning property in Australia is not the must-have it once was, entrepreneurial Australians are starting and growing businesses. There were more than 18,000 new businesses in December of 2020 alone, from a total of almost three million registered companies.

A number unlikely to fall is the renter population. Astute property investors like to take advantage of markets starting their new property cycle, which is what stats in from the research houses are suggesting. Perhaps it’s time to discuss your goals and options?

SOURCE: RE/MAX Australia