Young buyers a growing market

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Young buyers a growing market

May 2001

Young home buyers Young South Australians - and the growing number of international students - are providing the real estate profession with a new target market.

The Real Estate Institute of South Australia is noticing an increasing number of people aged under 25 investing in property, ranging from international students to the young professionals.

With the recent Federal Government plan to encourage more overseas students to stay in Australia, REISA chief executive Joyce Woody says SA could be in line for some of the spin-off benefits.

"Skilled migrants and university students present a big opportunity for us. They not only help create a lot of benefits to the state in terms of cultural and trade links, but also bring added skill and expertise to SA," Ms Woody said.

"While they are here studying, or even looking for full time employment, unfortunately many choose to rent. Ideally we need to encourage them to consider buying as part of a longer - term investment in our State."

The number of students granted permanent residency is expected to increase as visa procedures are further streamlined to attract students with specific skills - including areas in biomedicine, information technology, education, engineering and manufacturing.

Experts say that an influx of skilled migrants into SA - especially young, highly-qualified students - would counterbalance the high number of young people who leave the State each year to find work.

South Australia has more than 6500 international students, generating $200 million annually. Each month 2500 applications for permanent residency are received from skilled migrants, about half of whom are students.

"That market is growing each year, and 1 think it would be tremendously advantageous to find ways to cater for it, "Ms Woody said.

"With the recent changes in the residency laws, we could see many more students considering staying in Adelaide permanently. This means a lot more people looking for properties, and we should all be on the ball to make sure we meet this demand."

Real Estate in Adelaide, South Australia