Gay Real Estate Market

TOPICS: Lesbian and gay real esate market. Gay and lesbian marketing. Civil Partnerships. Australia. Sydney. Gay and lesbian real estate market trends. Gay PR. Sydney Morning Herald. SMH. Media. Out Now. Mainstream media coverage of gay market issues. Sydney Morning Herald article quotes Out Now in context of discussing apartment living and other real estate trends in the Sydney property market.

You are at the Out Now Gay Market News -- Gay Marketing 101 gay market updates site. |||| To reach our main site on lesbian and gay market research, gay advertising and gay marketing strategies, visit OutNowConsulting.com. To contact us, email info@outnowconsulting.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Out Now we are often asked to give our opinions about any number of market related issues in the context of gay marketing.

There was a quite well researched and well written article in the leading Australian quality broadsheet newspaper in this Sydney Morning Herald article about gay real estate market trends.

The article talks about the facts that gays and lesbians are no longer living just in so-called 'gay ghettos' as has been the case in the past, but are investing in real estate much further afield than the traditional Sydney gay ghettos of Darlinghurst, Paddington and Surry Hills.

As we told the interviewer, this does not mean that gays and lesbians are not still affected by traditional problems such as violence and harrassment, which can sometimes arise from living next door to homophobic neighbours.

Nonetheless, the article does a good job assessing where things are at present in the gay real estate market in Sydney. We are also tracking similar trends in other markets all over the world as gay and lesbian communities take flight, spread wings and take root in suburbs all across America, the UK, Europe as well as Australia.

Here is an extract of the SMH article:

Out in the 'burbs
March 3, 2007
Gay and lesbian buyers are leaving the traditional heartland - via trips to Rio.

It's Mardi Gras Parade day again. And along with the flood of visitors into Sydney savouring the smorgasbord of festival activities, there's been a slew of property advertising in the gay press.

The pink dollar is still powerful and nowhere more so than in the Sydney property market.

"The gay dollar is as strong as ever and possibly stronger, as more people become comfortable being open about their sexuality with others and become part of this market segment," says Ian Johnson, founder and chief executive of influential gay marketing group, Out Now Consulting.

"Apartments have always appealed to gays and lesbians and continue to do so. But the location of developments - especially on city fringes to the east and in the inner west - is particularly important."

The census doesn't gather figures on the size of the gay community, but in 2001 asked about same-sex couples. It identified 11,000 male same-sex couples and 9000 female same-sex couples in Australia. But these figures, says the Australian Bureau of Statistics, are likely to be an underestimation, with many people not coming forward to be counted.

But what is known is that gay couples are significantly wealthier than straight couples. Only 0.1 per cent have children - although Out Now research has found one in five lesbians in Sydney is a mum, and 5 per cent of gay men are dads - and 92 per cent of gay households have at least one partner employed, compared to 75 per cent of mixed couples. As a result, in 2001, the ABS reported that the average weekly income for a male same-sex couple was $1588, female same-sex couples $1422 for and a mere $1046 for opposite-sex couples.

The gay community presents a great opportunity for apartment developers and vendors, something sellers seem to be increasingly aware of. "They tend to have a higher level of income, often because both partners are working and they don't have children," says Kevin Mason, sales director at morehuman, a company marketing the 46-unit conversion of Erskineville's Star Printery building in the pages of the gay newspaper, the Sydney Star Observer.

"We're getting a large number of gay people coming in to look at the building. I think they like it because it's boutique-y and well designed, and they appreciate quality and something that's a bit different and they're more switched on [to the market] than other people."

In the eastern suburbs, there's also been great interest from buyers in an Altair sub-penthouse in Kings Cross, which has many features that attract the gay market. It's been renovated on strong design lines (see cover). "I think a lot of people have been attracted to it because it's such a one-off," says sales agent Vicki Laing from Laing Real Estate. "Buyers love that individualism."

In the apartment market generally, agency principal Erle Cramer says there's still a very strong gay presence. "If anything, the gay community has probably got more money," he says. "With no children to send to school and perhaps a higher proportion in the professions, they're still buying apartments."

The big shift
There has been a big shift, however, in where the gay community is buying. A major factor is price. Like all buyers, they're finding their money often goes much further away from the most fashionable areas. "They're seeing they can get more bang for their dollar away from traditional neighbourhoods," says Sydney Star Observer editor Stacy Farrar.

"They want the same things as everyone else: space, a good price, quality and good design. The gay community tends to be really keen property watchers and generally they're considered to be pretty cluey and up to speed in terms of getting a good deal."

Out Now's Johnson says they're also moving away now from the longstanding heartlands of Darlinghurst, Paddington and Surry Hills because of the perceived loss of the village feel of those suburbs. "Many are going to newer developments in the city or moving with many of their brethren to the inner west around areas such as Newtown or Marrickville."

Michelle Bova, one of the principals of home-loan company Smartline, which also markets to the gay community, says it is a natural progression. "People might be interested in 'the scene' at first, but then when they feel more secure with their sexuality, they might move into the suburbs," she says.

"A lot of people are moving out to Petersham, Lewisham, Gymea and the Shire. They want to spend their money wisely on property and we're very keen to help them. About 80 per cent of inquiries are coming from the suburbs now."

As a result, developments in all kind of areas are now advertising in the gay press.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For further gay marketing information, or to seek gay market advice, please contact: Ian Johnson, MD, Out Now Consulting
UK landline: +44-20-8123 5288 BE landline: +32-2-514 6443
mobile: +32-4737 60886
web: OutNowConsulting.com
news: Gay Market News - Gay Market Updates by Out Now

Gay PR. Global gay PR marketing, gay PR strategy, PR, training, gay advertising, lesbian and gay market research leaders.
Gay Market News is Gay Marketing 101 - The Out Now Gay PR Market Updates.
OutNowConsulting.com |||| GayMarketing101.com |||| Companies marketing & advertising to gays and lesbians. |||| Better understanding of the lesbian and gay consumer market. Gay market insight is Out Now.

gay market gay advertising gay marketing gay tourism gay travel pink dollar pink pound gay agency advertising marketing travel tourism gay lesbian gay and lesbian market research