Boomers head to city

Report predicts Toowoomba will benefit from people retiring

TOOWOOMBA is the perfect place for those heading toward retirement, with a new forecast predicting the Garden City is one of 40 regional markets to benefit from baby boomers’ urban flight.

A report from Propertyology says baby boomers are looking for affordable sea or tree change markets.

It claimed boomers would be looking for more affordable markets because of a shortfall in their superannuation.

Propertyology market analyst Simon Pressley said a majority of boomers would rely on a government-funded pension.

“Baby boomers didn’t have their employer contributing towards superannuation until the back end of their working years,” he said.

Mr Pressley said 10s and possibly hundreds of thousands of boomers would retire to regional areas.

He argued that the property markets in these regional areas could see a major windfall.

“When Australia’s baby boomer population equates to 4.45 million people, even if only a small portion did relocate, it will create significant extra demand for housing in the regions,” he said.

Mr Pressley said the areas likely to be in demand shared similar characteristics.

“We believe that the regional cities that will be in highest demand by baby-boomer relocators will offer a combination of quality lifestyle, good health care and availability of homes less than $400,000.”

Toowoomba fits the bill with its beautiful parks and gardens, relaxing atmosphere, easy access to health care through hospitals, GPs and specialists, as well as an affordable market where the average house price is $375,000.