The Baby Boomers are starting to hit retirement age and are forecast to start moving out of the cities to greener pastures in regional areas, including Wollongong.
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A study released by market research company Propertyology has identified 40 regional locations likely to be targeted by those born between 1946 and 1964. Poor retirement savings is making housing affordability an issue for this age bracket.
Managing director Simon Pressley said the potential for a mass baby boomer migration over the next two decades means regional property is a sound strategy for investors.
President of the Illawarra Property Council Trever Molenaar said this scenario is already very real for the region, with many retirees seen to swap the city for the surf and relaxed lifestyle the South Coast offers.
“We have great proximity to Sydney and are still relatively affordable comparably.
“Added to that is good infrastructure, hospitals and retirement options, a sense of community, a world class university and as a region some very picturesque scenery,” Mr Molenaar said.
“It’s not just baby boomers that have discovered Wollongong but younger families being pushed out of the city to larger yards, homes and better lifestyle options.”
The Boomers make up around 21 per cent of the Australian population and around 90 per cent of this generation will have some reliance on a government-funded pension according to the the Propertyology study.
The research predicts retirees to sell-up and downsize to areas with quality lifestyle, good health care and the availability of properties for less than $400,000.
Other cities expected to be a silver lining for older Australians include Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Armidale, Orange, Tamworth Dubbo, Port Lincoln, Albany, Alice Springs, Bendigo and Ballarat.
With soaring house prices across the Illawarra in recent years, free standing homes available for that price are hard to come by, though units are still quite affordable and leading the way in construction.
In the past 12 months apartment approvals have well surpassed the number of houses according to the HIA New South Wales Outlook.
Mr Pressley said the advantages of investing in regional areas include a smaller capital outlay, higher rental yields and diversification within a portfolio.
"When analysed on an average annual capital growth rate over the past 15 years, many regional cities have actually outperformed capital cities,” he said.