Many young people in South Australia say they would be happy to rent forever, according to a report by news.com.au
The 2019 Renters Report by realestate.com.au. examined the attitudes, behaviours and concerns of young Australian renters (aged 18 to 39) across the nation.
It found 16% of respondents in South Australia would be happy to rent forever. This was despite 39% of them experiencing rental stress — defined as spending more than 30% of their gross household income on the rent.
Notably, nearly 40% of young renters in the country were experiencing rent stress, but most of them were not aware of their condition or simply did not care.
Debbie Copley, senior property manager at LJ Hooker Kensington/Unley, said young renters tended to prefer stylish, modern properties in the CBD.
“Generally if they want long-term (properties), they want something with all the bells and whistles — air-conditioning, a dishwasher and so on,” she said.
In addition, proximity to work, university and the night-life was top of mind for these tenants. According to the study, more than 51% of young people in the country chose location over price as their most important consideration when securing a property.
“They want to live in the now, which is why they are choosing to do the rental thing rather than buy,” Copley said.
The study also found that young renters often had flatmates in order to afford the rent in their preferred areas. “We’ve got a couple of properties where a couple of couples are renting together — it’s mostly students or young executive couples,” Copley said.
Some, especially long-term renters, own other properties and still opt to rent. This way, they become both tenants and landlords.
John Carey, head of property management at Harris Real Estate, said that some people bought property as an investment in one location, while renting in areas that are near to town.
"You get a bit of rent-vesting where people rent something else and buy something further from the city,” Carey said.
In addition, there are numerous young professionals, specifically those with accounting backgrounds, who invest their money outside the real estate market.
Carey said that Adelaide’s CBD and inner suburbs were hot spots for young renters.
“The young market is in the inner city from Brompton all the way around to North Adelaide, Norwood, Rose Park, Unley, Mitcham and Mile End. It’s because of the lifestyle and access to the city itself. A lot of people make that lifestyle choice,” he said.
