Don’t knock it now, you might need it later

As seen in The West Real Estate

I think we’d all agree that housing supply is the biggest challenge facing the market at the moment. We need more homes, and we need more diverse and affordable options, however this usually involves medium and high-density development.

While we can all see the need many of us say “not in my back yard”. This attitude is hampering a lot of development that will benefit us and others.

We all love where we live, it might be great for bringing up a family, have a fantastic lifestyle and fantastic amenity, or offer large homes on good-sized blocks. But what happens when the kids grow up and move out and we don’t want a large house but want to stay in the areas we know and love?

One of the biggest complaints I hear from downsizers is the lack of suitable housing in their local area. That’s where we need to consider our futures.

There’s a controversial four-storey development in the South West. It’s in my street and right now I don’t need one of the units, but I’ll probably be grateful to have one in another 20 years.

There’s also resistance to a high-rise development in one of Perth’s Western Suburbs. The irony is the largest market for these units will be ageing residents within a two kilometre radius.

These types of developments not only provide a de facto retirement home without the fees for local downsizers, but also free up a site that provides the opportunity for the development of more medium density housing.

This development activity unfreezes the water in the pipes of the property market and creates efficiency in people being able to move to suitable alternative housing as their needs evolve. It also provides more affordable housing options for other generations.

For example, our 25 - 35 year-olds are crying out for simple, affordable housing options located near transport hubs and lifestyle locations so they don’t have to spend two hours or more a day travelling to and from work.

These people are our future teachers, nurses, chefs and geriatricians, orthopedic specialists and aged-care providers. The future is getting closer, so I for one want them to have the opportunity to live “in my back yard”.

I will note that development has to be done well. It needs to take into account the additional traffic on local streets and work with the council on implementing traffic flow measures. It should also provide ample on-site parking.

The truth is none of us are getting out of here alive, so housing diversity “in our own back yards”, is something we should encourage and welcome, rather than protest against in the fear it might change our suburb. It just might change it for the better.

Joe White
REIWA President