South East Queensland To Become Australia's Retirement Capital

A report released by leading demographer Bernard Salt has revealed that baby boomers are driving the growth of lifestyle housing in South East Queensland, proving the state will continue to be Australia’s retirement capital.

In Mr Salt’s report, Re-imagining the Great Australian Retirement Lifestyle, he said boomer’s changing expectations of their retirement lifestyles would influence a new wave of housing for over 50s, stating financial considerations and greater family obligations would also reshape how Australians view their later years.

Mr Salt said many older Australians were staying in the workforce for longer and were taking a bigger role in the care of their grandchildren.

“What we are now seeing is the rise of the portfolio stage in the lifecycle, it involves a range of social, family and work commitments,” he said.

“It is clear that the period in life between the mid-50s and 70 is increasingly being commandeered by work and/or by childcare. It delivers an increased level of financial independence as well as greater social and familial engagement.”

According to Mr Salt, the new reality of the retirement years would generate a cultural impact similar to the baby boomer-driven sea change phenomenon that propelled South East Queensland in the early 2000s.

“Those same boomers a decade or so later will be looking for a different accommodation product,” he said.

“That product is yet to achieve the cultural impact of the sea change shift but with so many boomers pushing into this stage of the lifestyle, it is surely only a matter of time.

“One such need will be self-contained townhouses or lifestyle unit facilities in a coastal location in places like South East Queensland.”

Over 50s lifestyle community developer Halcyon was one of the first to act on this shift in retirement living in South East Queensland, where it has just launched it's fifth project.

The $60 million Vision by Halcyon at Hope Island comprises 88 homes and according to Halcyon joint managing director Bevan Geissmann, has responded to baby boomers’ desires to downsize their financial commitments while upsizing their lifestyles.

“Our communities are tailored to maximise lifestyle while offering no exit fees and the opportunity to secure solid capital gains,” he said.

“Home owners across our existing communities have achieved a total of $8 million in capital gains to date. The project has been officially brought to the market after achieving pre-launch sales of almost $15 million.”