| Demographic trends influence almost every aspect of | | | | |
| life, from business planning to provision of healthcare, | | | | "I look to see how fast the economy is growing |
| from education to style. Age, income, ethnicity, | | | | here in Bend, and how many jobs are likely to be |
| gender, mobility, employment and other demographic | | | | created as a result, to determine the resources my |
| factors determine the shape of our society. | | | | business will need over the next five years," says |
| | | | Oregon, real estate broker Terry Denoux. |
| Real estate is no less affected by the ebbs and | | | | |
| flows of demographic trends, particularly income, | | | | Development planning relies even more on |
| aging, family situations and employment. | | | | demographic data to determine priorities. The |
| | | | average age of the population is a major factor in |
| For commercial real estate investors, the stakes are | | | | the type of housing that will be required over the |
| particularly high. Investing in commercial real estate, | | | | next couple decades. |
| for example requires the ability to forecast where | | | | |
| there will be a growing population, and/or where the | | | | "A young population in an area will require more |
| population's average income will be increasing. | | | | single family homes with multiple bedrooms and |
| | | | plenty of space for children to run," explains Wendy |
| In fact, commercial property investment requires a | | | | Cobrda. "On the other hand, an aging population will |
| deeper understanding of demographic data; it is not | | | | need more hospitals, more medical clinics, more |
| just the population trends that need to be | | | | housing that requires minimal maintenance." |
| considered, but the demographics of the competition. | | | | |
| And even those cannot follow a set formula. | | | | Demographic data plays a role in vacation rental real |
| | | | estate, too. "Do you buy vacation rental properties, |
| For instance, an entrepreneur looking to set up a | | | | or do you sell the ones you have now?" asks Steve |
| new car dealership needs to consider where | | | | Curtis, owner of , a vacation rentals lisiting site. "Well, |
| established dealerships are located and set up shop | | | | that depends on how much disposable income people |
| nearby. Car buyers wanting to compare similar | | | | have for vacations and, more importantly, on the age |
| models need to visit several dealerships, so they | | | | of the population. A younger person is more likely to |
| need to be close to one another. | | | | backpack through Europe, and stay at a hostel. An |
| | | | older person in more interested in comfort and |
| On the other hand, an entrepreneur looking to set | | | | privacy, which is what vacation rental properties |
| up a new hardware store, should look for an area | | | | offer." |
| underserved by the competition or where new | | | | |
| residential developments will be opening up. Hardware | | | | It also depends on where populations are growing |
| shoppers can compare brands of similar tools within | | | | more, as well as where the affluence is growing. If |
| the same store, so ease of access takes on a | | | | an economic boom is happening in England and |
| greater importance. | | | | France, but not in the USA and Canada, a vacation |
| | | | rental in Spain might prove more useful than on the |
| Speaking of ease-of-access, traffic patterns can also | | | | Gulf Coast of Texas. |
| make a difference, especially near busy intersections. | | | | |
| The demographics of traffic can add to the | | | | "Business planning is just a shot in the dark without |
| complexity of making a commercial real estate | | | | solid market data," explains Ms. Cobrda. "Demographic |
| investment. | | | | data reports and maps help businesses project |
| | | | market activity into the future, helping to avoid such |
| Understanding where to invest in retail properties is | | | | catastrophes as building stores with no customers or |
| one of the main reasons that demographic mapping is | | | | storing a few million dollars of inventory that nobody |
| such a popular service," explains Wendy Cobrda of | | | | wants." |
| Catosphere demographic data reports. "To visually | | | | |
| see the movement of people and their spending | | | | Given the high ticket price of real estate, whether |
| dollars helps businesses 'see' where they should open | | | | residential, commercial or vacation rentals, |
| their next store." | | | | demographic reports and market segmentation data |
| | | | are even more important.David Leonhardt is a |
| Consider also a real estate broker, whose livelihood | | | | Canadian freelance writer. He wrote this article for |
| depends on people changing homes. Economic | | | | Catosphere, a US demographic data reports |
| mobility is a key determinant in the future of his | | | | company and for Go Bend, an Oregon real estate |
| business, as is the economic health of the region. | | | | brokerage. |