Recent survey data from realestate.com.au sheds light on who is most interested in buying into new housing developments.

When asked the question ‘Would you live in a housing development?’ over 60% of respondents said yes.

Two main types of buyer

When we dig deeper into the data, we can begin to carve out a typical housing development buyer persona, mainly based on people’s life stages.

Although more than half of all respondents stated they would consider buying into a housing development, there were clearly two demographic groups evident:

1. Younger aspirational buyers

Those most likely to buy in to a residential development are typically younger – under 35 years old – and are interested in investment properties.

This aspirational group favour housing developments over established stock, and here are some reasons why this might be so:

Established stock in premium areas tend to have a higher initial buy-in cost, compared to new developments that are usually further out in new communities

Younger property buyers hoping to use a housing development as a stepping stone will consider new developments that are more affordable than established stock

From an investment perspective, newly built properties also offer depreciation benefits on fixtures and fittings in the first five or so years and this may be attractive to buyers on rising salaries

2. Established mature buyers

These buyers tend to be older and are more likely to have established families with children, and show much less interest in housing developments than their younger counterparts. This means that from a home-buyer perspective these buyers may have already settled in to existing housing stock.

This became clearer when other data points were uncovered, including;

The group’s propensity to be bringing in household incomes greater than $90K per year

A greater propensity to be working only part-time. It is likely this group is more focused on family duties than developing a full time career, or perhaps other investments are providing additional household incomes.

The data suggests that housing developments are favoured more so by young investors than mature home-owners. But those who sit in the middle of these two demographics shouldn’t necessarily shy away from developments. For instance, investors who are growing their career salary may find appeal in a modern development from a tax depreciation perspective.