Who is buying new housing developments?

Recent survey data from realestate.com.au sheds light on who is most interested in buying properties in new housing developments.

When we asked the question 'Would you live in a housing development?' over 60% of respondents said yes.

Younger aspirational buyers

Those most likely to buy in to a residential development emerged as typically younger - under 35 years old - and are interested in investment properties.

This aspirational group favour housing developments over established stock. Here are some reasons why:

• Established stock in premium areas tend to have a higher initial buy-in cost, compared to new developments that are usually further out from the city
• Younger property buyers often have a smaller budget at their disposal, so the lower buy in offers a stepping stone onto the market. Over time they may move into more established stock.
• From an investment perspective, newly built properties offer depreciation benefits on fixtures and fittings in the first five or so years, which may be attractive to buyers on rising salaries

Mature buyers prefer established

These buyers tend to be older and are more likely to have established families with children. They show less interest in housing developments than their younger counterparts and may have already settled in to existing housing stock.

The group are most likely to have household incomes greater than $90K per year and alternative sources of income, so may not be reliant on a new development as an investment prospect.

The data suggests that those least likely to buy a new property versus an established dwelling, may place a greater importance on established neighbourhoods and communities. Though developments can grow into thriving communities, this usually takes some time.

Data source: Newspoll Market & Social Research conducted an independent telephone survey of 300 Australians, aged 25-44, across a full national sample in 2013.  Data was collected in line with ISO 20252 - Market, Social and Opinion Research and has been weighted with current ABS population demographics to ensure any extrapolation of results is representative of age, gender and area.