Population shifts reshaping the property market

The number of households is projected to increase from 8.4 million in 2011 to between 12.6 million and 12.7 million in 2036, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

That would represent an increase of between 49.3 per cent and 51.2 per cent.

Over the same period, Australia’s population is expected to jump by 45.3 per cent, from 22.3 million to 32.4 million people.

The average household size was 2.6 people per household in 2011 – the forecast for 2036 is anywhere between 2.5 and 2.6 people.

At the same time, the number of single-person households is expected to increase by between 57.1 per cent and 61.9 per cent.

SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said the rise in single-person households will boost demand for one- and two-bedroom units.

“Developers here will have a big opportunity to cash in on this ageing trend and build even greater numbers of high-density accommodation to house sole-person households,” he said.

Mr Christopher also said that the ABS forecasts suggest that housing affordability will become an even bigger problem in the years ahead.

“Most of the population will remain concentrated in the bigger cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane,” he said.

“So unless there is any drastic change by governments towards solving the housing unaffordability crisis, younger Australians will still struggle to own their own home.”