Daily Buzz: Thursday, 29 August
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PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news.
The unique draws of Australia’s most tightly held suburbs; record levels of housing stress in Victoria; and increased in-store shopping leads to a demand for retail space.
Welcome to Property Buzz! I’m Sebastian Holloman and today is Thursday, 29 August.
Recent data from PropTrack has revealed that Australians are most likely to stay for more than two decades in suburbs close to cities, community amenities, and nature.
Seaside suburbs like Church Point and Killarney Heights in Sydney, and Battery Hill on the Sunshine Coast were found to have average hold periods of over 20 years.
Inland suburbs like Mount Ommaney in Brisbane and Morangup in Western Australia have also seen long hold periods due to family-friendly environments and proximity to local facilities.
Even units in suburbs like Dolls Point in Sydney saw long hold periods, with coastal living being a major draw for apartment owners.
Over in Victoria, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has reported the state contains the highest number of people seeking homelessness services in Australia due to housing stress.
In response to this revelation, the Council to Homeless Persons stated that Victoria must “act urgently” and “build more social housing” in order to combat housing insecurity.
Victoria also has the lowest proportion of social housing in Australia with just 2.8 per cent of Victorian dwellings being public or community housing, with rising rents and low vacancy rates further contributing to homelessness.
Notably, homelessness in Victoria rose 24 per cent at the last census, with over 58,000 applications for public and community housing on the waitlist as of March 2024.
And within the retail sector, vacancy rates in Australian CBDs have tightened as consumers return to in-person shopping, which is being driven by office culture and premium in-store experiences.
Melbourne’s CBD holds the lowest retail vacancy rate in Australia at 6.9 per cent, while Sydney saw the largest reduction, dropping to 7.4 per cent.
Despite overall tightening, Brisbane’s retail vacancy rate increased slightly to 19.2 per cent, which still registered as lower than the 19.5 per cent recorded in the first half of 2023.
CBRE attributes the tighter vacancy rates to increased foot traffic from office workers, tourists, and international students, with retailers focusing on immersive in-store experiences.
That’s Property Buzz for today. See you again tomorrow, 30 August, for your daily dose of Property Buzz.
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