Real Estate

WHAT WILL THE AUSTRALIAN HOME LOOK LIKE IN 2030?

Old houses have a charming appeal, but they’re no longer being built. New homes pique people’s curiosity, but what’s new today is ancient tomorrow. At a time when technology, social patterns, and new environmental models are converging, the future is bound to look different. That is the future of the average Australian home. Indeed, will there even be such a thing as “average”? It’s hard to know, but we have plenty of trends and estimates at hand to form an idea. For a start, where will we be living? Will we be more likely to move to the suburbs? How big will houses be? With the proliferation of smart technology, will our homes be smarter than us? We wrapped all of these questions into one and took a look at the factors driving them. All in the interest of asking what the average Australian home will look like in 2030.

Declining Birth Rates

Birth rates are changing the nature of how we live. Until the start of the new millennium, the average family consisted of 2.5 children. That was actually down from the preceding average of 3.5 in decades past. Many factors contributed to this change, the most noticeable being that women are choosing to have babies later in life. In times past, women largely got pregnant in their late teens or early twenties. They’re more likely to be in their thirties before they bring new life into this world now. Shifting social patterns have forced this change, and the effect is that birth rates are declining. In regards to the former statistics, the average family lived on a quarter-acre plot in a three-bedroom house. Does that mean that the Australian home will be downsized? Yes, and no. But mainly, no. At least when it comes to family homes. We will explore why.

In the generally accepted forecast for things to come, housing patterns will change. Much of it will be due to declining birth rates. These will change the nature of the Australian household. But so too will multiculturalism and the seemingly unstoppable migration policies of both major parties. Whether these policies are of beneft or not is not the question: they are altering how we live. As the birth rates fall, the average size of Australian homes will increase. The mixing of generations will come to be the norm, with multiple generations living under the same roof. Putting aside the socio-economic and environmental factors behind this, the average house size will increase. Along with this trend, it is predicted that the average house size will increase from three bedrooms to much more. The projection sees the standard Australian home growing to match the number of occupants.

The Three New Tribes

As migrant families pour onto our shores, seizing space for their large families, the Australian lifestyle will change unalterably. According to a 2020 report by the Commonwealth Bank, there were traditionally four social “tribes”. Those were the nuclear family, newlyweds, empty nesters, and fatmates sharing households. The latter were largely younger people just out of home or at university. Migration and multiculturalism, the key drivers of high-density living, will change that makeup. In a nutshell, the composition will alter into new tribes. The new emergent groups are identifed as home-work groups, social singles, multi-generational clans, and “Peter Pans.” These identify a change in our traditional lifestyle instigated by the factors we’ve highlighted. The impact will infuence the architectural design of the Australian home. It will lead to new micro-cities being created around housing, educational, and commercial hubs.

In the social-singles category, which represents the fastestgrowing trend, over 26% of us will live in single-person households. This will modify the urban sprawl as life goes vertical. Next are the multi-generational clans. Mainly migrant households, these will be packed-to-the-rafters multilingual homes with heaps of squabbles. But it will improve the upward mobility of the young. They’ll be able to save where the rest of us will be drained of shekels. The digitally-connected work-from-home crew are the products of the gig economy. They will work from home on freelance jobs and require less space than the multigenerational clans. To this end, they will choose vertical housing based on its central location. Meanwhile, the so-called Peter Pans are the muchdiscussed baby boomers. They will live in homes designed to enable them to live independently and for longer. For them, it will be all about their golden years.

The Australian Home in 2030

Having outlaid the new social tribes whose lifestyles will defne the new Australian home, it’s time to imagine it. Contrary to popular notions, houses will get bigger. Regional areas will grow. As renewable energy and related technologies replace the old, the new Australian home will likewise change. Putting aside high-rise living, many will move away from high-density living. It is said that consumers buy apartments as a frst step into the housing market. This will be true for some, but not all. Not everyone wishes to live the suburban dream or will have a big family to justify doing so. As such, the way we employ space will be different. Open-plan areas will replace individual rooms, with kitchens fowing into the living room and backyard. This concession to ergonomics will go hand-in-hand with Artifcial Intelligence (AI). New technologies will control everything in the home.

We already have the foundation for the virtual home operator. Siri and Alexa will be more prominent. Genetic scanning technology may also be in play for added security. Gizmos will control everything from the entryway to the garden sprinklers and especially the kitchen. The hearth of the home will resemble something out of the USS Enterprise. Innovations in recycling will be in play for water and the lavatory, and greening will become a bigger feature. Smart technology will allow you to cultivate your vegetables, such as specialist fridges. Samsung and LG have already created prototypes of these radical appliances. They are working on “bot chefs” to save you time. Homes will be functional and sustainable. But houses will also be designed around the concept of low maintenance. Or, put another way, for the timepoor and lazy among us. Technology is a marvel!

Bigger House Prices

The economy seldom works so that property values go down. It takes natural disasters and lousy socio-economic conditions for that to happen. While economic catastrophes are not impossible, the future housing market cannot be modelled on the sole basis of disasters. As such, we can expect both house and apartment prices to rise to proportions that would make our grandparents shake their heads. According to a recent analysis, Sydney house prices will surge by tens of thousands of dollars by the end of the decade. That trend will be replicated as migrants fock to our cities. Regional areas will also see much more expensive housing as families move away from the packed cities. Estimates suggest the average Sydney home will be close to $1.8 million, up from $1.6 million. Apartments will also break the price ceiling up from an average of $780,000 to an inconsolable $1.26 million.

The prognosis of such a high-priced real estate market raises numerous concerns about the next years. First-time buyers will be particularly concerned if housing prices climb above their income levels. The affordability of housing is a persistent source of concern. Stronger demand for social housing will be required to mitigate the impact of a prohibitively expensive market. As the gig economy becomes the norm for many, purchasing a house may appear to be an unachievable aspiration. It’s frightening to contemplate that, while migration was halted during the epidemic, Sydney housing prices continued to grow. As Australia reopens its borders, a slew of additional factors will enter the picture. But that’s another matter because, in order for the market to survive, there must be some give and take.

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