Regional Towns Take Growth Into Their Own Hands as Downsizing Options Dwindle
BALLARAT, VICTORIA – Facing a critical shortage of suitable housing for older residents, several regional Australian communities are taking the unprecedented step of becoming property developers themselves, building homes specifically designed for those looking to downsize. The move comes as a growing number of seniors find themselves unable to remain in family homes that have become too large to manage, yet are met with virtually no appropriate alternatives in their desired locations.
The lack of downsizing options is exacerbating broader housing pressures in regional areas, already strained by population growth and limited infrastructure. While national attention focuses on affordability challenges for young people, experts warn that the needs of older Australians are being overlooked, creating a systemic mismatch across the entire housing lifecycle.
“The onyl time older people ever get talked about in terms of housing is retirement living or moving into aged care,” says gerontologist Victoria Cornell, who recently studied overseas housing models for seniors. “I think it’s about 8 per cent of over-65s who live in retirement villages and about 4 per cent live in residential care. In terms of genuine things that help older people move, or even recognize older people in the housing system, they are just absent.”
The trend of communities self-developing is emerging in towns like Hepburn Springs and kyneton, where local councils and community groups are spearheading projects to build smaller, low-maintenance homes.These initiatives aim to keep older residents within their communities, close to support networks and essential services.
Dr. Liz Allen, a researcher focused on housing and demographic trends, believes the current debate is counterproductive.”Australians are at war with each other in an intergenerational sense and that undermines our future, it actually doesn’t help the cause,” she says. “We’ve got a whole-of-system housing mismatch and at each stage of the life cycle,we have a problem. This is not just a young person problem – don’t be fooled into thinking that. We have disconnected our humanity from housing.”
The situation highlights a broader national issue: Australia’s ageing population and the failure of current housing policy to adequately address the diverse needs of its citizens. As baby boomers age, the demand for downsizing options will only intensify, placing further pressure on regional communities to find innovative solutions.
(09/11/2025): An earlier version of this story made reference to a ‘spare bedroom tax of sorts’ being floated by Cotality. The research firm has never proposed such a tax.