At least one-in-six Australians now live in strata-titled properties such as apartments and townhouses, and there has been a seven per cent growth in the number of properties in the last two years, according to new research.
According to the Australasian Strata Insights Report 2022 report, it was discovered that in Australia, approximately 16 per cent of individuals reside in properties with strata titles but could be as high as 26 per cent.
Specifically, 10 per cent of the population lives in apartments, while six percent resides in various other types of strata dwellings, including townhouses, retirement villages, holiday parks, and detached housing with strata titles.
More apartment households rent than are owner-occupied with 47 per cent of stock being rented, with 12 and 16 per cent being owned outright or with a mortgage, respectively. Just under 20 per cent are unoccupied.
In the latest biennial report capturing the pulse of the strata sector across the Tasman region, it was found that individuals who possess and inhabit strata-titled properties, commonly referred to as “lots,” now comprise 28 per cent of Australia’s 3,071,188 lots.
These figures denote a surge of seven per cent, equivalent to an increment of over 200,000 lots, when juxtaposed with the previous report’s tally of 26 per cent in relation to a total of 2,869,845 lots from two years ago.
“Both Australia and New Zealand have seen rapid growth in strata-titled dwellings, both in the last decade, and as this research shows, in the last two years,” Professor Hazel Easthope, who led the research project team at UNSW, said.
“This increase reflects population growth as well as government policies to promote urban consolidation – that is, building up, rather than out – within existing urban areas.
“Strata-title property ownership was introduced in Australia in the 1960s. Strata developments have grown from an initial concentration in a few small pockets of urban areas, to become an important feature of the housing landscape across Australia and New Zealand,” she said.
NSW recently became the first state to surpass one million strata lots with a nine per cent growth over two years, while the ACT had the highest growth rate in the last two years with a 19 per cent increase in lots since 2020.
Half (48 per cent) of people living in private apartments in Australia are 20 – 39 years old and less than half of all apartment residents are born in Australia with a lone person representing the bulk of household type at 39 per cent, followed by couples at 25 per cent and couples with children at 12 per cent.
The report also found that 50 per cent of Australia’s strata building stock was built before the year 2000.
The project was led by Professor Hazel Easthope with Danielle Hynes, Dr Yi Lu and Reg Wade from UNSW’s City Futures Research Centre as project team members and was funded by the Strata Community Association.
SCA National President Chris Duggan said the data shows just how important strata-titled living is to Australia.
“In 2023, people value access to work, shopping, entertainment and recreational amenity more than any other time in our history, and strata living is leading the charge to fulfilling these needs,” he said.