Downsizer roadblock hinders housing
It’s time to focus on downsizers, who hold the key to resolving WA’s housing crisis.
Many couples are happy to stay at home, given lack of alternatives. Photo: Nomad_Sould
There are now an estimated 600,000 people in the downsizer age group in Western Australia. Figures contained in the state government’s Western 2026, there are 612,000 people in the prime downsizing group between 55 and 75 years of age. By 2036, the number of people in this age group is expected to surge to over 700,000, due to our ageing population.
Downsizers have been largely ignored in favour of first homebuyers, who have received generous government incentives over recent decades to build new homes in the outer suburbs. It is now time to focus on downsizers as they hold the key to resolving our housing crisis.
For example, Limnios’s in-house research indicates there are 200,116 properties in WA with three-plus bedrooms that have been owned by the same people for 20 years or more. The reality is that we need to start directing more financial incentives to enable thousands more people to downsize in the infill areas of Perth so we can fix the blockage in the housing market.
Many of these downsizers want to stay in their own established area where they have strong social connections. However, most of these people currently cannot vacate their large homes and move into new medium low-rise housing in their local area because this option in many cases does not exist due to lack of suitable housing.
In Stirling, for example, there are now nearly 50,000 people in the downsizer age group who are fighting over the very limited number of new homes and villas coming onto the market in the area.
They are now prisoners in their own oversized homes because we are not encouraging enough infill homes in near-city suburbs. This is freezing the property market with the result that there are a very limited number of homes for sale in Perth.
The latest real estate figures highlight the negative impact this downsizer roadblock is having on the Perth real estate market by limiting the supply of properties.
During the March 2026 quarter, the acute shortage of properties for sale in Perth has resulted in the median price of a dwelling in Perth surging by 7.3 per cent compared to a national average growth of just 2.1 per cent.
If this trend continues, Perth could become the second most expensive city in Australia to buy a property, after Sydney. We must avoid this outcome at all costs.
Excessive property prices in Perth are not only bad socially but also economically, as high property values could deter much-needed skilled people from moving west.
I am pleased the Real Estate Institute of WA has highlighted this downsizer roadblock in the market and suggested initiatives to encourage more medium-density in infill areas, such as a $10,000 stamp duty concession for eligible downsizers.
In addition, REIWA recommends the extension of the Infrastructure Development Fund to medium-density developments: an initiative I believe would be welcomed by many boutique infill developers.
Another initiative to encourage more suitable infill housing for downsizers involves slashing the red tape and government costs that limit boutique developers from bringing more suitable infill housing into the housing market in established areas.
Now is time the state government to set up a taskforce to formulate this infill strategy, focusing on new housing for downsizers, that should be aggressively supported by all levels of government when completed.
In particular, the task force should examine the massive subsidies taxpayers spend annually on developing urban- sprawl housing – now questionable in terms of demographic changes in our society, and whether this money would be better spent in encouraging more appropriate infill housing.
Business News – April 20, 2026
Opinion Article – James Limnios, Managing Director of Limnios Property Group
