The Data on Co Living

Australia has the largest homes in the world, with a reducing number of people who live in them.

From the perspective of a real estate developer, the potential return on investment per square meter is just not feasible.

To put this into context, if you had 246m2 in Hong Kong, you would be able to fit just over 22 homes for the same space here in Australia. Using that same logic, a home of 246m2 could fit 55 people inside it.

Considering the reliability of a family as a tenant, the typical duration of occupancy in a regular family residence ranges from 6 to 12 months, whereas for individuals who are single or in a couple, it extends to 2 years. As a result of the oversupply of family homes, families have more choice whereas someone on their own stay longer because they know their options are limited. There is a massive undersupply of affordable dwellings designed to cater for single people.

Homelessness is on the rise

As we prepare to sleep tonight, there exist twelve million unoccupied bedrooms throughout the nation, while simultaneously, 116,000 homeless individuals are sleeping in vulnerable conditions. This is not the typical assumption most Australian have around someone who is homeless but people who sleep in their cars, couch surf, temporarily in caravan parks etc. The fastest demographic of homelessness in Australian is women over the age of 55, be it through no fault of their own but merely unfortunate circumstantial outcomes.

We live way to big in Australia, and this lack of affordability is evident in the escalating homelessness rate. From 2011 to 2016, homelessness increased by 15%. 1 in 200 people are classified as either Primary, Secondary or Tertiary homeless in Australia. These statistics correlate with the rising prices of housing.

Housing Affordability is falling

Individuals who reside alone allocate an average of 44.4% of their income towards housing expenses. The established Australian threshold for housing affordability is breached when housing costs surpass 30% of an individual’s earnings.Projections show that people living on their own will make up 24% to 27% of all Australian households in 2041 (compared to 25% in 2016) and increase by between 0.7 and 1.2 million (32% to 53%) from 2016 to 2041.

When looking at the average rent of a 4 bedroom home as per the Department of Health & Human Services Rental Report, we see it costs $420, whereas avg price of 2bed home is $415. Therefore each extra bedroom is worth $2.50 per week, on average.

This raises the question: Why do most investors continue to construct four-bedroom residences? The return on investment is clearly not viable.

Social Isolation and Loneliness

Social isolation and feelings of loneliness exhibit variations across different age demographics. Loneliness tends to be more common among young adults, males, individuals living alone, and those with children, either as single parents or in couples. The Australian property market is catered and modelled for the majority around families – the least likely group to experience social isolation and loneliness.

1 in 10 (9.5%, or around 1.8 million based on 2016 population) Australians aged 15 and over report lacking social support (Relationships Australia 2018)

about 1 in 4 report they are currently experiencing an episode of loneliness (Australian Psychological Society 2018)

1 in 2 (51%) report they feel lonely for at least 1 day each week (Australian Psychological Society 2018).

For people who live by themselves, very little housing options allow for social connections that produce positive outcomes.