More Long-term Apartment Living
The number of Australians living long-term in apartments is on the rise as the gap between house and unit prices widens and buyers chase affordability.
Domain Chief of Research and Economics Dr Nicola Powell says there has always been a gap in price between the two different types of product but never to the extent it is now.
“When you look at the price gaps now, what that suggests is two things: one, that houses are overvalued, or two, that units are undervalued. I think when you look at those price gaps, it really showcases the distortion in the sub-markets of the housing market that we’ve seen since the pandemic,” she says.
She says with houses becoming more unaffordable it was changing what some people regard as the ideal long-term home.
“As Australians, we need to talk about our first homes in a different light. We need to re-evaluate how our first home looks. That dream picture of a detached house on a block of land has changed over time as our population has swollen and our cities have grown,” she says.
University of New South Wales research associate Dr Sophie-May Kerr, says more people are choosing apartment living over houses.
And it is not just the costs that are pushing more into the apartment market according to Kerr.
She says for some buyers apartments offer the opportunity to live closer to work or transport and city-based amenities.
“With the increase of issues that we are seeing with housing affordability and the shift towards higher density housing in our cities – we see that trend increasing and more likely to continue,” she says.
