A new report says the Australian dream of owning a three-bedroom house on a quarter-acre block is a thing of the past and that smaller homes for singletons must be built.
A housing supply report to be released officially next month predicts the number of single-person homes will account for one third of Australia’s housing supply within 20 years.
A few key findings were revealed today at an urban developers’ conference in Sydney.
The report says not enough homes are being built in Australia to cope with population and lifestyle changes.
According to the National Housing Council (NHC), there will be a dramatic rise in the number of homes from 8.5 million to just under 12 million by 2029.
More people will choose to live in the city, with Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane the preferred capitals.
NHC chairman Dr Owen Donald says the number of single-person households will almost equal the number of family homes.
“These days the younger people are partnering later and those partnerships are not lasting as long, so there are more single people in the population,” he said.