Yahoo Finance SW over-55s facing housing shortage
Bridgetown has become a town with an older population but without enough housing to suit, according to experienced real estate agents.
The 2011 census found 36 per cent of Bridgetown’s population is aged 55 years or older, however over-55s housing is in short supply, Harcourts principal John Ranieri said.
Mr Ranieri believed clients in Bridgetown who wanted to sell an acreage often asked him to find smaller properties in town, but relatively few were available.
“They would love to come into town and find something smaller," he said.
“But they don’t want to go to Geegeelup (retirement village) yet – they’re not ready for Geegeelup.”
Being within walking distance to town is important to over-55s but he believed Bridgetown’s hilly topography was a complicating factor.
LJ Hooker’s Ziggy Gyoergy agreed a lack of suitable land was an issue and said he had abandoned an over-55s project after a lengthy approvals process due to escalating costs.
“It takes you three years to address all the criteria to get approvals and by then the horse has bolted, ” he said.
The Bridgetown-Greenbushes Shire Council’s Strategic Community Plan, published in 2013, notes the number of people aged 45 to 74 years in the shire is higher than average.
Shire president Tony Pratico said he was aware of the need for more housing for older residents but it was an issue for the private sector.
“(However) if an application comes forward we would look at it pretty seriously,” he said.
He said a question remained as to the resale value of small houses “yet we’ve got people living in big houses they can’t look after”.
Mr Ranieri said a lack of suitable housing could force older people to move away, diminishing the town’s social capital.
Harcourts is distributing a survey to gauge exactly what over-55s want in a house and were prepared to pay, to confirm demand and possibly investor interest.
He had identified a piece of land that was probably suited to such a development.
“It’s not going to be a big site – it will probably only take between 12 and 15 units – but it’s a start,” he said.
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