“What will tenants be looking for in a property in 20 years' time?”.

I've been asked by Australian Property Investor to say, in 140 words, what a tenant will look for in a property.  Hey, in 20 years, so much will have changed!  The sustainability of the property will be paramount. Gas, electricity and water prices will be high and so a rental property with energy and water efficient features will be highly sought after.  And then, tenants will know that being close to work will save time and money.  Time to spend with their family and cost, to save on petrol and tolls.

Owen Donald, Chair of the National Housing Supply Council, of which I am a member, says:

• accessibility to  rich choice of jobs, schools, amenities = central or very connected
• apartments and high-medium density dwellings de rigueur for nearly everyone
• enviro sustainability = energy affordability = smaller, better design (including no uncontrolled passage of air), more central = different urban design, more walking, cycling, public transport
• affordability, broadly defined to include rent, energy consumption, the minimisation of unproductive time, and thereby, the minimisation of living costs attributable to location. 
• But he also says that:
  • We add to or radically change around 1.6% of our housing stock every year, at least half of this is conventional dwellings, and higher density housing tends to be more expensive unless its radically smaller.
  • Oh yes, and our governments are generally poor at recognising, planning, implementing or enabling the transport and other forms of urban infrastructure (including decentralisation of government services) that would be a catalyst for more rapid and extensive change
  • So ... many buyers and tenants (notably those with lower incomes and those with a swag of young children) in many places (especially outside the big three capitals) will look for bargains in conventional suburban stock either by preference for this form, or because they're disappointed that they can't compete for the chic metro-pads that more affluent buyers (and would-once-have-been buyers but are now relatively affluent renters) are demanding and getting.

 Mary Patetsos, a former member of the council, Chair of the ACH Group providing homes for older persons in Adelaide says:

• Access. Size to fit, Efficiency, clean environment, possible yearning for escape, near open space/parks. Increasing focus on functional outdoor links re; balconies, terraces, roof tops.

So my 140 words looks like this:

 In twenty years many more people will be renting permanently as buying becomes increasingly unaffordable for many. Renting offers more choice and there will two high priorities for tenants: location and affordability, Young people will continue to seek apartments and terraces in the inner areas (20 minutes from everything!), but many families and older people will look for long term rental options in the suburbs.They will look for a property close to schools, child care options, open space, and public transport. They will seek a home well located to their job so that travel time is minimized and they need to reduce their petrol and toll bills. Affordability goes well beyond the rent. In particular, tenants will want an energy efficient home to reduce electricity and gas costs, and will demand energy and water efficient fittings throughout.

July 2013

I'm privileged to present at the Knowledge Cities World Summit in Istanbul this September. My paper proposes a tool for practitioners to use when evaluating the success or not of their knowledge precincts.  I think it will also be very useful when undertaking strategic planning for future knowledge precincts as it pulls together from prior global research the key success characteristics of successful precincts world wide. The interesting thing I found during my research was that the governance of a knowledge precinct is a significant determinant of both short term and longer term success. A clear focus on managing the outcomes, and the support given to maintaining the kind of firms that settle is critical to the agglomeration benefits. Here is my abstract: 

Knowledge precincts as a policy tool for urban renewal and change in cities
Knowledge precincts have traditionally been examined within the economic theory of ‘industry clustering’. But what does that mean in the context of current city economies? The knowledge economy embraces many forms of innovation and embraces the media, cultural arts, universities, as well as private sector scientific and technological research. This paper examines the spatial ramifications of knowledge ‘clusters’ in terms of city development policy and city positioning.
This paper will be presented from a practitioner’s perspective in order to examine how the emerging research into knowledge precincts can translate into tools for policy making and implementation. A policy tool is proposed to measure likely success of a KIP.
Precincts in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney in Australia are evaluated as case studies to demonstrate whether the integration of knowledge industries into precinct redevelopment can lead to successful urban restructuring. Governance and implementation mechanisms emerge as key indicators of likely long term success.

Details about the conference can be found at www.kcws2013.org