Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) is becoming the very welcomed alternative to needlessly placing Australians living with disability into nursing homes. But are there enough homes for the NDIS participants who need them? Being in its infancy stage, it can be difficult for prospective investors to read the market landscape.
How many people need SDA properties?
It may surprise you to learn that around one in six Australians are living with a disability. This may not seem significant, however, that equates to just under 4.5 million people in Australia who may be looking to improve their quality of life with an SDA property.
Still being relatively new to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), specialist disability accommodation is still growing and not yet meeting the overwhelming demand. The number of NDIS participants is expected to reach 870,000 by 2030; this is a remarkable figure. Only a small proportion of these participants will be eligible for SDA funding. The estimated number of homes required is going to be between 25,000 – 30,000 across the next eight years. This means that in total, 52,000 SDA places are going to be required by 2030! What an incredible opportunity for you as an investor to get the ball rolling with an NDIS loan.
Which design categories are in demand?
As you’re likely aware by now, there are four different design categories of SDA homes, which have been meticulously developed to provide the most appropriate support to those who tenant them. 67% of the dwellings built as of September 2021 were for High Physical support (HPS). While this is excellent as an outcome for those requiring very high support needs, it creates a severe deficit of Robust builds sitting in the pipeline.
If you’re looking at a new build SDA, then it is worth considering how the HPS dwellings are nearing market saturation, and perhaps look to the country where purchasing land (which is typically more suitable for Robust builds) may be the best option for building your SDA house.
What is the vacancy rate of Specialist Disability Accommodation homes?
As you may expect, the vacancy rate of SDA homes is relatively low, sitting at just under 3%. What’s understandable about this statistic is that 60% of the vacancies are in Legacy or Group homes. This points to another market trend, where the rise in quality of the SDA stock is resulting in more and more legacy dwellings being de-funded. Naturally, it’s expected that vacancies are set to increase in existing poorly designed homes — even more reason to make sure that you are building with a reputable SDA accredited builder and choosing from the best SDA providers.
What better time than the present to give the gift of suitable housing that supports our disabled community. Contact us today to learn how you can take advantage of SDA market demand and become a socially-focused investor.
