Outpriced from metropolitan housing markets and retirement villages, many retirees are winding up in regional caravan parks.
Pam and John Bond have been living in their two-and-a-half-bedroom demountable house on the outskirts of Bendigo for the past 12 months.
The retired welfare officers previously lived in a three-bedroom house in Bundoora, in Melbourne's northern suburbs, but could not sustain their large mortgage repayments, and sold up.
After extensive research throughout Melbourne, they widened their search for housing to Bendigo, but were priced out of both regions.
"When we looked at buying a house we would've had to have a house under $200,000, but then when we looked at the rates and the water ... to pay the rent here is cheaper," Ms Bond said.
Their search also included retirement villages in Bendigo, and while they acknowledged the "wonderful facilities", they said the costs were too high.
"We couldn't afford it, simple as that. The rent is a lot higher and their extra fees are a lot higher," Ms Bond said.
The couple had their home custom-built in a caravan park in Epsom for $205,000, adding a garage and garden at extra cost.
Caravan park industry changing to cater to over 55s
Colin and Linda Johnston bought their caravan park in Epsom, on the outskirts of Bendigo, when parks were "different but the same".
The family-run business has always had a mix of tourists and residents, but demountable houses have replaced caravans for residents over 55, with only one long-term resident remaining in a caravan.
Where once there were 35 caravans in the park with clients paying $100 a week, now one-third of the park has been divided into 28 residential blocks of 16m x 15m.
Twelve of these are occupied, with the rest of the park catering to tourists.
Mr Johnston said the move reflected the growing trend of caravan parks providing homes for the over 55 demographic, because of the challenges of permanent caravan residents.
"If a tourist comes in for a two-night stay, he doesn't want some guy who's living on the dole, hasn't got two bob to his name, who owes six weeks of back rent on his caravan, coming along botting cigarettes and tinnies off him," Mr Johnston said.
He said ultimately it was also a business decision, because over time the tourist trade increased once the number of permanent caravan residents reduced.
Residents pay $125 per week rent for the site, $2.50 a week for a sewerage connection, $6.10 a week for the infrastructure for the electricity, and pay for their own electricity and gas usage.
They sign a 12-month site agreement that is renewed every 12 months, and are covered by the state's Residential Parks Act and Residential Tenancy Act.
Bigger operators grab slice of the action
According to a Colliers International analysis, there are more than 2,500 caravan parks in Australia comprising a mix of tourist parks, residential living, and entirely residential.
Although the majority of caravan parks are owned by single operators, the biggest change in the industry has been the development of entirely permanent residential villages for the over 55 market.
Eight major companies own or operate five or more residential and mixed-use caravan parks across the country.
The developments have been driven by a lack of affordability for an increasingly ageing population.
"Fifty-per cent of Australians only have $470,000 or less in total equity, including their family home," Vic Parks vice president James Kelly said.
It is expected that as shortages and prices grow in metropolitan areas, there will be a migration towards regional towns.
Mr Kelly is also the managing director of Lifestyle Communities, which owns 13 residential parks in Victoria.
"In Shepparton we're selling for an average of $210,000, and in some places in Melbourne we are selling up to $340,000," Mr Kelly said.
The price of a home in the residential park is set at 75 per cent of the median house price in the area, with residents signing a 90-year lease.
Looking for community
John Lansdown, 65, was living in Melton, in the western suburbs of Melbourne, in his three-bedroom, two-bathroom house, before retiring to caravan park in Epsom.
He looked at a few other residential villages in Victoria, including Echuca and Shepparton, before settling in a two-and-a-half-bedroom demountable house he bought six weeks ago for $145,000.
"The price is good. You buy it and you don't have to worry about paying stamp duty or anything like that," Mr Lansdown said.
It was not just the low rent and no-exit fee at departure that attracted him.
Like many older residents, Mr Lansdown was also looking for a community that offered support, convenience and security.
"The security is here. You don't have to worry about doing the gardening or anything like that, if you go travelling," he said.
"And you have other people your age or a bit older around you as well."