How can development in Western Australia (WA) respond to changing population growth, lifestyle trends and expectations? UDIA’s State Conference brought industry professionals together to tackle the issues impacting property and development in WA.
Urbis Directors Tim Connoley and Michael Webb presented ‘The Nitty Gritty on Demographics and Population Trends’ and explored what people want. Combining Tim’s economics expertise and Michael’s insights from a design perspective, their session looked at what development and communities will look like in the future.
While the interstate and international migration to WA has eased, there are early signs of increasing population growth, with a projected spike of natural growth in the next five years. The top three segments of population growth for WA are children, young adults and baby boomers – creating the need for consideration of diverse community needs. The ethnicity of migrants to WA is also evolving over time and we are seeing a higher concentration of UK born residents in Perth than other centres and also a concentration of Indian born residents.
It is crucial that communities adapt and available housing stock meets the needs of the changing population. It is also important that the culture and lifestyle of prospective migrants are taken into account when planning for the future.
Tim explained the changing population demographics in Perth, and what this means for the property development industry.
“We need to adapt our communities to meet the cultural shift of residents migrating to Western Australia.”
Michael unpacked eight emerging trends in new communities and the idea of “Cities that Breathe”. He looked at how the property industry should respond to future cultural and behavioural shifts.
“We need to continue the conversation around housing diversity to meet the changing needs of our communities.”
The UDIA WA State Conference brings together industry representatives for two days of informative presentations, discussions and debate. Urbis is pleased to support the conference and share expertise and insights with the industry.
To learn more about Western Australia’s demographics and population trends, contact the team.