Not long ago Australia was a nation of homeowners – where living the dream consisted of owning your own piece of land. This is not so much the case anymore. New statistics show that times are changing and that nowadays the option to rent is becoming increasingly more popular.

Last Friday 16 October the latest update on housing occupancy was released and the figures revealed a lot about the current state of the real estate market here in Australia – with the results proving very promising news for investors in this country.

Let us take the number of renters for example, the report showed that this number has risen to 31.4 per cent, a definitive growth from the late nineties when it was only 28 per cent. What is also interesting about the new report, is that it shows that the proportion of Australians who own a property outright is 32.5 per cent - only a smidge higher than its rental counterpart. Rewind back to 1990 again though and this figure was about 40 per cent – that is a significant drop.

However, while the housing occupancy percentages have shown an obvious swing, the real change that we have witnessed comes from the number of properties that Australian landlords are snapping up. According to latest reports, there has been a notable increase in the number of landlords who own multiple properties.

In fact, according to the Bureau of Statistics, 1.5 million households now own properties they do not live in. Furthermore, 39 per cent of those on high incomes own a second, third or even fourth property.

The Bureau of Statistics report further states that approximately 300,000 landlords do not actually live in their own homes. So while they rent their properties out, they then actually rent somewhere else themselves.

The option for investors to rent out properties themselves is becoming increasingly popular says Hannah Schuhmann, Principal of HS Brisbane Property. She says that at HSBP they see it time and time again and that ultimately the decision is driven by lifestyle.

“Many high-income investors choose lifestyle and convenience, which is why we often see them make the decision to lease out their own properties and then rent a city apartment that offers them all the bells and whistles”, says Hannah.

“For many astute investors, living in Brisbane’s CBD means they are close to work and many of the best restaurants and facilities.”

Whether you are looking to buy or rent in Brisbane, when it comes to high-end CBD apartments we have several exclusive buildings listed for sale. For more information to the HSBP team on 0419 782 133.