The subject of Australia's population seems to be quite a hot topic in the news at the moment. Over the last few weeks I've read in The Australian that our country's population is growing at double the world average, with Sydney alone expected to top six million people by 2036 according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Being in the real estate industry, these figures are of great interest to my colleagues and I at Century 21, and I'm sure you'll be able to guess why. With other reports in the media of late about Australia potentially facing a bit of a housing supply issue, where are all these people going to live? I've used this blog to bring together some of the ideas I have about where we'll all be living in the not too distant future.
I think it's fair to assume that with such massive growth predicted Australia-wide, we're going to be able to expect percentage increases similar to that anticipated in Sydney in all of the country's other capital cities. I can see state governments being forced to release more land for development and mass residential construction projects getting underway. Australia's cities may develop into regions of predominantly high rise living, not just in the core CBD areas, but in suburbia as well. We're already starting to see this now.
Innovative architectural practices are going to have to come to the fore – Australia's capital cities have so many historical buildings of significance, there needs to be a way to incorporate these into practical modern living environments. I've seen a great example of this on Sydney's York Street, like it or hate it, – where Scots Church was converted into a 146-unit apartment building, with its new towers perched above the old Neo-Gothic style church, whose congregation still meets there.
To ease the burden on CBDs, governments will likely encourage and incentivize the movement of people and businesses to second tier CBDs like Parramatta in NSW or even the Sunshine Coast/Gold Coast in Queensland. This in turn should see solid growth in commercial and residential real estate markets in those locales. It might be worth taking note of this trend when considering where to buy your investment property.
Moving away from the cities, areas once considered farmland may take on an appearance similar to the city suburbia you see now. Again, in some areas this is already happening. All of the areas considered conducive to easy living (i.e. close to a water supply and major transport infrastructure) but not close to the city will eventually be populated and new hubs of activity will come to exist.
In a nutshell I expect to see new developments sprawling both upwards and outwards in the future and a new vibrancy to ascend on second tier CBDs. As I've said in a previous blog, population growth can bode very well for making capital gains on property. Try to seek independent advice detailing where this growth may occur and you may do very well out of some strategic property investments in the long term.