Investment opportunities: Rental trends shifting towards Generation Y

If you're considering taking out an investment home loan to help begin building your property portfolio, you could benefit from watching the market and becoming aware of any differences or changes that occur.

For example, a recent release from the Australian Property Investor magazine found that Generation Y were fast becoming the largest group in the rental market across the nation, which could be valuable information for anyone considering purchasing investment property in the near future.

While the nuclear family currently occupies 33 per cent of the overall rental property market, Generation Y represented 30 per cent of the market. This is expected to continue to increase heading into the future.

SQM Research founder Louis Christopher said in a September 23 statement that this is partially because of Generation Y's delay with having children, removing the necessity of purchasing property and allowing them more freedom overall to focus on their careers.

The difficulty of finding and purchasing a new home also contributes, while many renters are simply satisfied with the relative freedom of being able to move at a whim to a location that better suits their needs.

"All of those demands have them gravitate towards a rental property. And while younger Australians are happy to rent, they’re not keen to put down roots and will on average move to a new rental property every 18 months or so," said Mr Christopher.

With many Generation Y renters preferring property that is located closer to the central business districts of their cities, as well as close to the local amenities such as cafes, restaurants and leisure spots, searching for investment property in these areas could help your investment opportunities.