AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY INSIGHTS
LIVING WELL
SUPPLY MUST RAMP UP Australia will require around 5,280 new units each year through to 2061 to simply maintain the current penetration rate of 4.5%. But in 2024, actual delivery was just 1,339 units, this gap highlights both the scale of the opportunity and the challenge around increasing delivery. The pipeline is also well short of levels required to maintain penetration rates with just over 7,200 units set to be delivered over the net two years. The relatively subdued supply picture, despite strong demand and appetite from capital to enter the sector can largely attributed to increasingly challenging development feasibility. The mix of high construction costs, ongoing labour shortages, and elevated funding costs have all weakened the pipeline, despite high occupancy and solid price growth in existing villages. SUPPLY SNAPSHOT
A clear trend with the pipeline is the increasing prevalence of vertical or multi-level schemes which drive density and improve feasibility for investors while providing occupiers with proximity to urban centres. STRONG OCCUPANCY UNDERSCORES LATENT DEMAND Occupancy levels provide a strong signal of sector demand and resilience – and current metrics are striking. National occupancy reached 96% in 2024, the highest rate since industry tracking began in 2014. Driving this strength are both structural and cyclical factors.
CHART 6
PROJECTED RETIREMENT LIVING SUPPLY (2025-27)
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
NSW
VIC
QLD
WA
SA
ACT
Source: Cushman & Wakefield Research, PWC/Property Council (2024)
CHART 7
RETIREMENT LIVING OCCUPANCY (2014–2024)
82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98
2014 2015
2016 2017
2018 2019 2020 2021
2022 2023 2024
Source: Cushman & Wakefield Research, PWC/Property Council (2024)
7
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
Powered by FlippingBook