Franzen Tips #1165 - How old is your landlord

Franzen Tips #1165How Old is Your Landlord?

 

This might seem like a bit of an odd topic, but a recent article on microbusiness.com.au caught our attention. It would not be a surprise to anyone that landlords are generally older people who

have purchased their own property then invested in another and taken on the title of “landlord” or “landlady”. But which age groups dominate this category?

 

In the year 2000, the majority of landlords were in the 40-49 age bracket but that has dramatically changed over the years. 20+ years on and those 40-49 year olds are now in their 60’s and have become the

dominant age group for being a landlord. The chart dramatically shows this change over the last 20 years.

 

The other very interesting outcome of this trend is that it explains why the age of people listing their properties for sale has

increased significantly as well. It also explains why investment properties being listed for sale are increasing as a percentage of total new listings. The chart below is very interesting in two aspects. Firstly, you

can see a significant spike in investment properties being listed for sale during the recent property boom that occurred during the height of the pandemic. But you can also see another

spike in 2023.

 

As the chart only shows the percentage of investor listings (rather than the actual number of listings) it could be that listings from non-investors softened more rapidly

as a result of the interest rate hikes over the last 18 months. Other charts in the same article from microbusiness.com.au show a subsequent increase in the percentage of mortgages

now being provided to the “investor sector”. So as older investors are now cashing in their investments to presumably

fund their retirements, new investors are starting to pick up the properties,

compared to the first home buyer group.

 

So, obviously, the dynamics of the market are continuing to change over time. It will be interesting to see in the next year or two which age group these new investors fall into. Isn’t real estate interesting? We think so 😊