The importance of housing diversity: Jo Chivers
As Property Bloom nears it's one hundredth development project, it occurred to me that we, as project managers and our clients as investors/developers, have been contributing to the diversity of main stream housing supply.
What I mean by this is that we build small dwellings - two or three bedroom villas that once subdivided end up on small, manageable lots. The majority of new housing stock is still four or five bedroom family homes.
I read a document released by the NSW Government Planning and Environment department about the importance of housing diversity. It mentions the changes occurring in the housing market which are driven by demographics, affordability and lifestyle trends.
Families are having less children and some choosing not to have any at all, couples are working longer hours leaving less time for property and yard maintenance, there are more single person households than ever before, first home buyers are looking for more affordable homes and we are living independently longer and so older people are looking for low maintenance properties.
Whilst the mainstream consumer is still after the large four to five bedroom homes, there is a definite need for smaller dwellings. In one of the locations we are developing in, there is strong demand by older buyers who want to down size but live close to their kids who have built their four bedroom dream home in this premium estate. There are so few smaller dwelling available that when one does become available there are several buyers vying for it.
So this is what we do, find these areas and meet the demand. There is a need to diversify the types of housing available in new release areas to ensure housing is affordable and meets the needs of all community members.
Jo Chivers is chief executive officer of property development project managers Property Bloom.
