Measuring Great Neighbourhoods

After a century of developing neighbourhoods across Australia, Frasers Property has learned a lot about what people want from their communities. But there’s always room to learn more.

The team at Frasers Property Australia are driven by a singular ambition: to create stronger, smarter, happier neighbourhoods where people feel proud to belong. That goal serves to organise their approach to urban design and delivery, community development, and customer care. But how to measure success? That's where The Great Neighbourhood Survey comes in. This unique initiative allows the company to capture invaluable insight into the lives and experiences of its residents, regardless of whether they bought from Frasers Property or not. As Narelle Simmons, Customer Strategy & Insights Director at Frasers Property Australia, explains, "The Great Neighbourhood Survey considers all of our residents in a community – renters, purchasers who bought their property from us, and people who bought their home from someone else. It’s agnostic to your customer status. What we’re really interested in is your community experience”.

Emily Wood, Executive General Manager Development at Frasers Property Australia, highlights the significance of the survey: “If our ambition is to create a greater sense of belonging in the neighbourhoods we create, we need a means to measure whether our efforts are successful. The Great Neighbourhood Survey is how we go about it”.

According to Emily, the survey serves as a powerful tool for accountability and continuous improvement. It holds Frasers Property to their commitment to building connected communities and provides valuable feedback that fuels their drive to enhance the liveability of their neighbourhoods. “Along with our partnership with Ending Loneliness Together, The Great Neighbourhood Survey is one of the flow-on initiatives from our involvement in The Great Separation documentary,” says Emily.

“Where the film explored the growing issue of loneliness in Australian society more broadly, the survey was a means for us to gauge what people were specifically experiencing in our communities. It’s been really pleasing to see that the rate of loneliness that our residents report is half the national average. That tells us that our efforts are working.”

Shaping communities through resident insights

The Great Neighbourhood Survey also plays a crucial role in informing the work of the Community Development team. Each participating project has a dedicated Community Development Manager who uses the survey data to tailor programs and events to the specific needs and interests of the residents. As Narelle explains, “It enables us to see how much residents value their local parks, whether they attend local events, and if they know their neighbours’ names and feel safe in their communities.

"The survey has already yielded fascinating insights into the lives of Frasers Property residents. It reveals that 44% of households nationally are couples living with children, highlighting the importance of family-friendly amenities and spaces. Interestingly, the survey also shows that the primary driver for choosing a Frasers Property community is lifestyle factors such as leisure and recreation, followed closely by public space and community infrastructure. Proximity to family and friends, while still important, takes a back seat to the desire for a fulfilling and enriching lifestyle.

Given the company’s focus on building belonging, one datapoint really stands out: the number of residents that are on a first-name basis with their neighbours. A remarkable 85% know at least one of their neighbours by name, with more than one-third knowing more than ten neighbours. This compares to the 2021 Australia Talks national survey that revealed that almost 40% of people did not know their neighbours.

A future focused on connection

Looking ahead, Frasers Property plans to keep evolving the Great Neighbourhood Survey to delve even deeper into the dynamics of community life. “Each year that we run The Great Neighbourhood Survey, we add to this really deep set of data that helps to design the neighbourhoods of tomorrow,” says Narelle.

“We get a better idea of how residents are using community spaces and amenity, how frequently they use them, and whether those spaces are supporting new neighbourhood connections and a sense of belonging. As someone who works in the Customer Experience field, there’s no greater satisfaction than having the proof that your efforts are working.”