Demographics were age and income related. Psychographics is how we can look at housing in the future, to divide people into tribes based on their life style preferences and needs.
Newsflash, the traditional discussion about tenants has just been turned on its head by a new survey by CommBank introducing ten tribes and their property needs. Gone are the four traditional groups: flatting friends that had just left home or were the new divorcees; the newly weds; the nuclear families; and, the empty nesters.
Higher cost of housing and new social trends are driving higher density living environments. There is also intense interest in more complete communities, that accommodate employment, schooling, social and cultural needs and are technology supported. We are moving towards Smart Cities.
CommBank’s Future Home Insights Series suggests that the ten tribes will have a direct impact on what housing is built, renovated, bought and sold. If we are savvy investors we need to know about this now to appreciate the expectations of our tenants. Below are the ten types and some suggestions on what may suit their housing needs.
Social Singles
Twenty six percent of households are forecast to be social singles. They will make up 3 million households by 2030. They love access to great wireless technology for home and work needs. This group may love the one bed apartment plus multifunction room that has slide back doors to increase the living space when they are not having guests over or watching a movie.
DINKS (Double income no kids)
These couples prioritise high incomes and entertainment. They love the pulse of the inner city suburbs such as Erskineville, Alexandria and Surry Hills in Sydney or Kensington and Southbank in Melbourne. In Brisbane, they like Teneriffe, Fortitude Valley and Bowen Hills; in Adelaide its Brompton and Leederville in Perth. They like up market apartments, townhouses and low land content houses with great lifestyle options and good access to transport.
Lifestyle renters
These people rent for lifestyle as younger people or older high income professionals. They want flexibility on where they live and may priortise their life style, travel and investment property as their commitments. Investigate this group for long term tenants with low vacancy periods, your local rental agents should know what they look for in property.
The home work tribe
One in three workers will be employed on a freelance basis and will work from home for part or all of the week. By 2030 this may mean kitchen benches converting to work desks, fold out desks from walls and coffee tables doubling as digital screens. Our homes are forecast to get smaller and the work from home tribe to increase in size requiring more creativity.
The Multigenerational Clan
The rise in multiculturalism drives increased co habitation with the elderly, children and grandchildren in one home. Caring for the elderly at home is the norm in many cultures. This has increased the appeal of the dual occupancy property in the suburbs with separate living on one title for multiple generations.
Nuclear Family
Nuclear families are morphing with many more same sex parents. Internationally nuclear families are turning to co-housing communities and multi-family residences to support their community needs as same sex parents raise the two children.
Peter Pans
This group is defined as those born between 1954 and 1965, the tail end of the baby boomers, that will be 65 to 76 in 2030 and still feeling young at heart. They intend to embrace technology to live independently as long as possible.
City Switchers
This group have choosen a regional lifestyle over city living. The Central Coast or Newcastle in NSW with good access to Sydney as required. It is likely they are still going for the quarter acre block, the four bedrooms and the park nearby for the kids to play.
Midlife Flatmates
Those in larger houses are thinking about community and some are embracing flatmates. Think Airbnb for the spare room, or a longer term tenant with like minded values. This provides the stimulation of chosen company in your own home.
Property Accumulators
Investors will need to be more sensitive to the needs of household tribes that inhabit their properties to keep them tenanted as newer more flexible spaces become available.
The Smart City initiative by the Federal Government will need to consider many more elements in designing these spaces. Closed-loop homes by 2030 are forecast to operate as self-sufficient ecosystems, generating their own electricity, getting rid of waste with little or no residue and recycling water. What sort of tenant appeal do you want for the future?