NSW’s Central Coast, Nelson Bay, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast in Queensland and Hobart in Tasmania are among the website’s most popular retirement destinations.
Greg Oddy, of Downsizing.com.au, said overall web traffic is up more than 40 per cent compared to last year and have around 1,500 new email subscribers joining their database each month.
68 per cent of the website’s audience are over 55 years and 39 per cent aged over 65 years.
“Downsizing means different things to different people. Younger retirees in their late 50’s early 60’s want the same things as millennials: good quality housing, close to CBD, good amenities.
“We are seeing a lot more agents who work in that niche, and there an opportunity in our downsizing website to capture a vendor lead. We have a lot of consumers looking for something to come to before they sell the family home.”
With an ageing population and modern medicine meaning Australians are living longer, portals like this will become increasingly important, said Mr Oddy. The aim of the business is not to compete with REA Group and Domain but to offer something they are not.
“We bought downsizing.com.au domain from Fairfax, they’re not interested in it. REA Group have retirement listings mixed up in the search results and it’s more targeted to developers. Across the major portals, there were 31,000 listings in the category of retirement in last 12 months. There is a real change in how retirees are looking at properties they want to move into.
“Rentals are an opportunity as well. We get daily inquiries for rental property. There is a big demand for consumers in our niche for rental properties. If you are an agent selling in a retirement village or over-55 accommodation, we have that ready-made audience.
“Other marketing metrics of note include the monthly distribution of over 390,000 email newsletters and new listing alerts, and we have 13,500 active email subscribers and over 12,000 Facebook followers.”
Mr Oddy, Special Projects Manager, joined Downsizing.com.au’s parent company Seniors Housing Online in September and is a former Raine & Horne, LJ Hooker and REA digital marketing executive.
Advertisers on the side include Aveo, Lend Lease, Stockland as well as retirement accommodation providers and real estate brands.
“Downsizing.com.au is a destination website for downsizers offering property listings and aged care services, while our affiliated site Seniors Housing Online offers a wider range of properties and services, including aged care.
“The long-term strategy involves creating a broader marketplace for financial services, hospitality, travel, and other products and services catering for the baby boomer generation.”
“For now, delivering services to real estate agents targeting potential vendors before they downsize is a central focus for the business.”
“In the listings section, we offer real estate principals the option of displaying a property but they can also promote an agent or their agency. This choice makes downsizing.com.au an excellent lead generation tool for real estate agents.”
