Choosing a good investment property and understanding the demographics
Choosing an investment property and understanding demographics of a neighbourhood go hand in hand.
When we are looking at an area or suburb for investment, it is essential to have a look at the demographics of the neighbourhood to understand the age groups attracted to the area and the likely incomes and type of housing that will be the most attractive for the majority of people wanting to rent and wanting to buy as owner-occupiers in the area.
It makes sense to be buying a modern two-bedroom apartment close to the city for your investment if you know that a large percentage of the population in the area are young professional renters with a reasonably high disposable income who can afford to pay the rental your investment should achieve.
Report found Cardiff as the most segregated city in England and Wales
Likewise, in areas where we see large numbers of retirees moving to smaller single level villa developments, wanting the added security of a gated community, then perhaps that type of property may make the best investment in that type of area.
A recent report from the UK may be of some interest to Australian planners also as we see the median age of residents in our cities fall considerably as young Gen x and Gen Y renters move closer to our city centres. The article entitled “Housing crisis ‘is driving young and old apart as different generations are being forced to live apart‘ , highlights the fact that age segregation is now an planning issue in many UK cities.
The study found that:
- Under-30s are stuck renting in Britain’s regenerated city centres
- In a rise in ‘age segregation’ the middle-aged dominate the coastal regions
- The lack of affordable housing in many areas has damaged society, says a report by the Intergenerational Foundation
Recognise any of these issues for our Australian cities? Older people congregating in smaller towns and outer suburbs has implications on where to place health services and other planning issues as well as some of the more obvious problems ‘age segregation’ may cause.
Choosing an investment property and understanding the demographics of a neighbourhood is essential in understanding the type of property likely to work best for you both for finding renters immediately and for future capital growth in having the type of property most likely to appeal to future owner-occupiers. Read more: https://goo.gl/CbaxP7
