Many of us come to a point where the house feels empty. The kids have moved out, so the noisy hustle and bustle of each day feels like a distant memory, and you find yourself with a big home that you just aren’t using effectively – yet you don’t really want to leave the suburb you know and love.
Sound familiar? Well, we came across an article recently that discusses downsizing in Perth, and thought we would share a few key takeaways as a bit of insight for anyone considering the same.
Well for starters, anything less than three bedrooms isn’t going to cut it, with ‘half of all "downsizers" still wanting three bedrooms to be happy, a new study has found.’
So this means we are potentially looking for a home that has a room for ourselves, a room for a hobby or work, and a room for guests or grandkids to stay over.
The study, led by Curtin University researcher Amity James, examined survey responses from almost 2500 people aged 55 and up across three states in Australia, including WA.
We learnt the motivation behind downsizing is generally based on lifestyle, and not for financial reasons, which makes sense with downsizing often representing less gardening and cleaning as blocks and homes are smaller and are typically designed to accommodate a low-maintenance lifestyle.
‘Many downsizers wanted to stay in their local areas, attached to their community, the survey showed, but many council areas studied had very few options.’
The results we very clear that we are a city of house-lovers! A large majority of people surveyed indicated their preference is to live in a house over an apartment.
Which means while this raises some questions around diversity of housing within our local councils, it was pleasing to note that WA’s five councils with the highest numbers of 55-pluses – Stirling, Joondalup, Wanneroo, Melville and Swan – all reasonable housing diversity already.
“Findings indicate a demand for a supply of smaller houses, detached or attached, in areas with high-quality amenities ... absence of this supply presents a significant barrier to downsizing, and the lack of suitable and affordable housing for older Australians will be a major concern as the nation’s population ages.”
Read the full article Here
Knowing what kind of development you can build and what types of dwelling are in demand will determine the overall profitability. A quality build, competitive pricing and a trusted development partner are essential for a stress free process. This is where the Assetbuild team can help.
Contact us to find out more, and be one step closer to your new home.
