Apartment popularity soars in inner cities
Inner-city apartment living is fast become a more popular option than suburban homes, research from the federal government shows.
The Department of Infrastructure’s State of Australian Cities 2012 report shows that attached dwellings now represent nearly 28 per cent of all homes in Australia, with the number increasing.
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According to the report, the Gold Coast is the nation’s apartment capital with nearly 40 per cent of the population now living in attached housing, while Sydney is a very close second.
Meanwhile, Canberra is seeing the greatest shift towards high-density housing with 70 per cent of new housing approvals being made for attached dwellings.
Patrik Bruhlmann, chief executive of body corporate management company Vesture Limited, says the traditional Australian dream of owning a house on a quarter acre block is fast changing as people look for inner-city lifestyles.
“Where in the past we would have seen young couples buying their first home in the suburbs, we are instead seeing more and more young people purchasing apartments as their first homes,’’ Mr Bruhlmann said.
“At the other end of the spectrum are the empty nesters who are moving into apartments for convenience and lifestyle reasons.”
The report looks at Australia’s 18 largest cities, which include:
• Adelaide
• Albury - Wodonga
• Brisbane
• Cairns
• Canberra - Queanbeyan
• Darwin
• Geelong
• Gold Coast - Tweed
• Hobart
• Launceston
• Melbourne
• Newcastle
• Perth
• Sydney
• Sunshine Coast
• Townsville
• Toowoomba
• Wollongong
