Australia has 13 million spare bedrooms. Is there a better use for them? & More News Here

“Tax on [property] turnover means people are in houses that don’t suit their circumstance. So, we would get a better allocation of houses if we replace stamp duty with land tax,” Tulip stated.

Other measures to encourage empty nesters to downsize have been constructing extra various property varieties and eradicating the household dwelling exemption from the aged pension asset check, he stated.

“They have spent the last 20 or 30 years opposing the construction of new apartments, townhouses, or retirement homes in their suburbs. So, most Sydney suburbs lack a diversity of housing types that would allow people to move to a more appropriate housing, while maintaining their social networks.

“They want to move somewhere nearby, but they’ve prevented all the housing alternatives that would give them that option.

“The exemption of the family home from the aged pension test also exacerbates this [spare bedrooms and empty nests]. It should be removed.”

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Impact Economics and Policy lead economist Angela Jackson stated there was a clear mismatch in houses and households.

“We clearly have a number of people in houses with an excess number of rooms; either they’re staying in the family home or entering retirement. Then on the other hand, we have people living in crowded rooms,” she stated.

“It’s not a good allocation of housing if you have some people in overcrowded homes and then people with spare bedrooms.”

But Demographics Group co-founder and demographer Simon Kuestenmacher stated folks ought to be capable of select easy methods to reside.

“You could soften the housing affordability crisis, or eradicate it completely, at least theoretically, by shifting empty nesters from their four-bedroom house into an apartment and a family into the house,” Kuestenmacher stated. “But that is of course not what we’re doing.”

He stated many delay downsizing as a result of older Australians want to age at dwelling somewhat than enter an aged care facility.

“Australians downsize when the family home becomes a nuisance to manage, or becomes a physical hazard, or once mum has had a fall.

“Starting in the late 2020s, we’ll see baby boomers at scale reach the downsizing phase, the peak of this would be around 2037.”

He stated till then state governments wanted to construct rather more medium density akin to cities like Paris, London, or Berlin.

“We either have skyscrapers or we have something that looks like suburbia.”