property 20 years lockout, page-34

Yep, the baby boomers and the empty nest syndrome is tipped to cause major change.

I read a report from an academic about 5 years ago and he pointed out that the vast majority of baby boomers (something like 92%) had mad no provision for their retirement other than compulsory super and paying off their family home.

The problem is that they are also quite used to living well so when the cash inflow stops how do the good times roll on?

Well he tipped a large sell off of suburban 3 or 4 bedroom places in favour of 2 bedroom places in warmer climates or renting.

He also said that regional towns where the price difference from Melbourne/Sydney prices would make them attractive places to retire to.

He maintained that these towns would only be popular if they were within 2 hours drive of Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane.

Ofcourse, if that wave starts then the price difference between the regional towns and the cities will close as demand rises in the towns.

For example, I can see Geelong prices slowing slightly as Ford moves out and support companies move out but as the next wave of boomers retire I can see them looking at Geelong as a nice place to retire to with a swag of cash from selling the Williamstown home.

In Queensland Toowoomba may do well and in NSW (I'm guessing here) Newcastle and others may do quite well.

Coastal may not offer enough price differential so the "tree change" phenomenon looks like it has legs.

One thing to do is go to www.abs.gov.au and check out the stats from the 2006 census.

To 2021 they are tipping 13% population rise for Vic, 12% for NSW but a whopping 27% rise for QLD.

That rise will most likely be focussed on SE QLD.

Once I again, I could go on for ages.