Due to changes in our household demographics, demand for apartment style living is on the rise. Most capital cities are building apartments at record rates to meet this demand.
The increase in demand for off-the-plan development is being driven primarily by local and overseas investors, people downsizing and first home buyers.
Offshore investors are attracted to Australian property for the relatively higher yields compared with those achieved overseas. Our property market is also considered more stable than most countries. HSBC research labelled “Australia as one of the top investment destinations for affluent Asians”.
Furthermore we have an ageing population and the number of Australians living alone is projected to experience the most rapid increase of all household types.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), “The number of couple families without children is projected to overtake the number of couple families with children and become the most common family type in Australia, possibly as soon as 2023.”
Another driver which is changing the face of our property market and increasing demand for apartments, according to the ABS, is Melbourne being the destination of choice by
new arrivals as well as interstate migration.
Melbourne continues to have the largest population growth of all capital cities in Australia. Furthermore, Australia’s population is the fastest growing in the western world.
Over the last year, more than 100,000 people have moved to Melbourne. Medium and high density residential development will play a key role in accommodating the extra 100,000 people a year.
All these factors point to an ever increasing demand in apartment living as more buyers are choosing to buy close to amenities. The only way to accommodate all these buyers in the popular inner and middle suburbs, where there is limited supply of land, is with compact housing such as apartments.
