Strata Insights Report 2022

Insights into strata living from University of NSW City Futures Research Centre

With the Strata Community Association funding, the University of NSW City Futures Research Centre has published its latest Strata Insights report for 2022. It provides valuable insights on long-term trends for investors, developers and anyone with a professional or personal interest in strata living – which is most of us!

Key strata data points

As of November 2022, there were 89,049 strata plans in NSW, an increase of 6% from the last survey in 2020.

Interestingly, the number of individual lots within these plans grew more than 8% to 1,043,690 as the new plans tend to be larger.

The estimated total insured value of these plans grew by 13% to $456 billion because the number of buildings and the construction cost to replace them increased.

And some 57% of plans were built before 2000, which means no letup in the pressure on repairs and maintenance for those owners corporations.

Who lives in apartments?

The Strata Insights report found a 14% increase in the number of strata residents to almost 1.3 million since its 2020 snapshot, cautioning that this is an under-estimate. This represents 16% of the state’s population of just over 8 million NSW and 20% of the 3 million individual households.

Trends within that figure, too, as the main driver was an increase in single-person households (up from 31% to 35% of the total). Unoccupied dwellings were also up from 11 to 15%.

The strata population skews younger compared to the state as a whole, with 63% aged under 40.

Renters are the dominant category, with 48% of households, compared to 13% owned outright and 17% with a mortgage.

The majority (59%) of strata residents are overseas-born, with some movement in the mix compared to the previous study – Chinese-born were 7% (8%) and Indian born 6% (5%).

Servicing strata

According to the report, Strata services generate almost $3 billion per annum in economic activity in NSW, with plumbing, electrical and gardening the most used trades and engineers, valuers and lawyers most called upon for professional services.

Background

The study was funded by Strata Community Association (SCA) and involved collaboration with the University of NSW’s City Futures Research Centre, Deakin University, Griffith University and the University of Sydney.

Data was obtained from multiple sources, including state land titles offices, the 2021 Census and participating strata companies.

Read the 2022_Australasian_Strata_Insights_Report

Who Lives in Strata NSW 2022