In order to look at the demand for rooming houses, first we need to take a look at the current supply - where they are now and how common they actually are.
SUPPLY
It may shock you to know there are thousands of rooming houses across Australia.
Historically, rooming houses were a common accommodation choice in the early twentieth century, housing between 5-10% of Melbourne's population with residents being mostly single men. Many of these original rooming houses have now been converted back into dwelling houses occupied by families.
The 1980's saw the development of community managed not-for-profit rooming houses known as social housing.
Beyond 2000, the 'new model' of profitable private rooming houses has emerged in response to a competitive rental market and rising house prices. It is important to note it is not to be confused with social housing.
There are currently over 1,300 registered rooming houses in Victoria. But that is only 0.05% of all dwellings in the state.
Investing in a rooming house to obtain a higher rental yield than any other residential property is the latest trend sweeping the nation - and the investors are reaping the rewards.
Why you ask?
Because the demand is stronger now than ever before!
DEMAND
The 2016 ABS statistics will show you that almost 1 in 4 Australians are living in a single person household. In 2016 exactly 2,023,542 people lived by themselves.
That's 24.4% of our population!!!
Yet only 411,252 or 5% of all dwellings in Australia are 1 bedroom.
So basically only 5% of all properties cater for 24.4% of our population.
The fastest growing trend in housing is the increase in people living in lone households. This is mostly due to our change in lifestyle. If we look back at how the older generations grew up and their lifestyle habits you will see a big difference. People were married straight out of school and having families at a younger age. Families were bigger and staying together. The need for bigger dwellings was much higher. Nowadays, the younger generations are getting married at an older age, living independently for longer. We are forever socially connected online, so the need to connect in person has dwindled.
What's worse is that the cost of living is extremely high, rental costs are increasing faster than wages, making it too expensive and people are looking for alternatives. The days of a single person renting a 2 or 3 bed place is quickly disappearing, even 1 bedroom apartments are getting too expensive in our capital cities. The fastest growing trend in rentals is people of all ages and backgrounds, moving to more affordable living spaces.
Let's look at some numbers:
Victoria
People living in single person households = 521,828
But only 107,356 x 1 bedroom dwellings
Greater Brisbane
People living in single person households = 173,424
But only 33,404 x 1 bedroom dwellings
Geelong
People living in single person households = 27,443
But only 3,448 x 1 bedroom dwellings
(source: 2016 abs statistics)
This large gap in the market means there are thousands of people who are living by themselves, but there is not enough supply for the demand. A large majority of people are paying more to live in bigger places 2-3 bedroom dwellings. But there are literally hundreds thousands of people who, due to the cost of higher living, don't want to pay more and are looking for alternatives.
A simple search on flatmates.com.au will show you over 16,000 people today, are looking for shared living or more affordable living arrangements. There are many other websites who help find renters these alternative living arrangements.
It only takes a couple of quick searches to see that the demand for rooming far outweighs the current supply. Australians are in dire need for more affordable living arrangements and we are here to help provide it. The demand is growing faster than the supply can keep up.
If you want to invest in property, follow the demand and you will be the one bearing the profits.
Keep an eye out for our next article where we outline the Pro's and Con's of a rooming house investment.
If you have any questions regarding Rooming Houses or Multi Occ properties, please don't hesitate to contact us - contact@thepropertyroom.com.au
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