Number of centenarians in Australia soars sixfold, adding new dimension to housing crisis

The number of Australians aged 100 or over has reached a record high of 6,192, a sixfold increase from just 1,012 in 1993, according to the latest ABS population figures.

This growing number of older Australians is set to add a new dimension to the country’s housing crisis, as people will need homes for much longer than previous generations, says Kevin Young, President of Property Club.

“Improving health care means Australians are living longer and therefore need housing for a much longer period of time than previous generations,” Young said. “It is the cruel secret that the government is hiding as they struggle to find the money to fund the surging cost of the aged pension and social housing due to our population living much longer.”

Young warns that Australia will soon face a “tsunami” of older Australians who will be unable to find affordable rental accommodation due to the chronic shortage of rental properties, exacerbated by a series of anti-property investment policies pursued at all levels of government.

“Almost 12000 ex rental properties were put on the market nationally in the year ending January 2024 as more mum and dad investors bailed out of the property investment market because of excessive government red tape and taxes,” he said.

Recent regulations introduced by state governments have given tenants more rights than landlords, while soaring taxes and 13 recent interest rate rises have made it financially challenging for mum and dad investors to hold onto their rental properties.

Young believes that these anti-mum and dad policies need to be reversed to avoid an entrenched housing crisis for older Australians, and suggests that Australia should follow the example of other economies such as New Zealand, which has no capital gains tax for investment properties.