Brighter Buying

Single? You’re not alone.

by Kate Watt, Marketing Manager 16 February 2023

One in four Aussies lives in a one-person household. Translation: there are a lot of Australians enjoying unchallenged remote control privileges.

In property terms, that has some serious implications for Australia’s housing market, reports realestate.com.au.

“In Australia, the average household size has declined from 4.5 persons in 1911, to 3.6 in 1961, then to 2.6 in 2016, and now sits at 2.5 in 2021,” reports PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh.

“When it comes to lone households, the proportion has also steadily increased from 20% in 1991 to 26% in 2021.”

So we should see an increase in construction of smaller size dwellings to meet our shrinking households – right? Wrong.

“At the same time, the share of larger dwellings has consistently increased while the share of Australian dwelling stock with two bedrooms or less has fallen over the past 30 years.”

That’s not going to help our affordability challenges.

“…we’re not building enough homes to sustain the projected growth in households, let alone the right mix of residential dwelling structures that are rightsized for demographic changes,” it reports.

So what can you do if you’re single and looking to buy property?

The good news is you don’t have to miss out on the benefit of a property partner. We reported last week that around 40 per cent of savvy singles are considering buying property with a non-romantic partner.

Units are also expected to grow in popularity in 2023 given their relative affordability to houses with many well located units still well within the reach of the solo buyer.

Looking to find the perfect home for one? View our current listings for sale or check our listings for rent.