SHARING SPACE

THE number of Cairns residents sharing a home could be under-represented as a trend for homeowners to rent out a spare room in their property becomes apparent.

According to the 2016 Census, just 4.4 per cent of households in Cairns were group households, with more than a quarter housing only one person.

Family households made up 69 per cent of the population.

But Real Estate Institute of Queensland Far North zone chairman Tom Quaid said he had noticed a growing number of people deciding to let out rooms to help cover the mortgage and costs.

“This retains that social aspect while enabling these buyers to get ahead on their mortgage or help save further, which can be a big step up,” he said.

“Otherwise I see share housing as a bit of a rite of passage for many young people, whether leaving home for the first time as an independent or moving for study.

“Typically by the mid-20s though many people have partners or have got to the point where they have a bit more financial freedom so it tends to drop off from there.”

But Cairns Sharehouse manager Tammy Angel believes the Census data did not reflect the true nature of share housing in Cairns.

“There is a shortage of short-term accommodation for Australian residents here and there is definitely a demand for sharehouses,” she said. “There are also a lot of people in their 50s and 60s, recently divorced and working and have got nowhere else to go who look for sharehouses and we do have properties where we accommodate people like that.”

Mr Quaid also said the high number of people living on their own could be down to the relative affordability of Cairns properties. “We also have a good number of one-bedroom apartments available,” he said.

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