[Podcast] The most important things investors need to understand about demographics with Simon Kuestenmacher

If you’re a property investor, in business, or an entrepreneur, you’re really going to enjoy today’s show. 

Simon Kuestenmacher, Director of Research at The Demographics Group, is joining the podcast today, and we’re going to talk a bit about demographics – how many Australians there are, where they’re living, where they want to live. 

But more importantly, we’ll talk about what the big trends are and how they’re going to affect our property values and the economy.

We’re going to speak about what the right sort of property is going to be in the future for our burgeoning population, where they’re going to want to live, how they’re going to want to live, and where property values are going to increase. 

It really is people who are going to create the need for property, so let's understand what those people are going to need. 

Highlights from today’s conversation with Simon Kuestenmacher:

• Population growth is one of the major demographic trends that will influence Australia’s property markets.
• Despite the large Baby Boomer demographic, Australia’s population is ageing at a slower rate because the country has so much migration
• New migrants tend to move as close as possible to job centers and knowledge centers. But established migrants act on the housing markets like everyone else. 
• Large populations of immigrants aren’t a problem if distribution and infrastructure are handled correctly. But over the last 10 years, infrastructure hasn’t grown at the same rate as the population, and that’s created problems. Inner suburbs are not densifying.
• Distribution of the population requires that developers are on board to help create the housing needed at the pace required. 
• There are two ways to build housing at a rapid pace: by building skyscrapers in city centers or bulldozing land to build homes on the greenfield sides.
• Housing at scale is not being added in the inner suburbs, so people who want bigger housing have to look outward.
• This is a good time to build high-quality and beautiful housing that will last intergenerationally.
• Town planning and regulations are an issue. To densify the missing middle, you must contend with local government regulations and concerns. 
• Any kind of property in the inner 10 km of a capital city will likely continue to be a good long term investment.

Links and Resources:

Michael Yardney

Metropole Property Strategists

Metropole’s Strategic Property Plan – to help both beginning and experienced investors

Simon Kuestenmacher - Director of Research at The Demographics Group

Some of our favourite quotes from the show:

“Australia’s been built on migration going all the way back to the 1800s and the gold rush.” – Michael Yardney  

“The challenge is firstly town planning, and also NIMBYs.” – Michael Yardney

“We are so lucky that we live in the best country in the world.” – Michael Yardney

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