Apartment living is becoming more and more popular. A Tsunami of articles has flooded the media landscape about minimum sizes, affordability, and the importance of good design in smaller spaces.
Life in Windowless Box: The Vertical Slums of Melbourne is the title of an article by Ralph Horne and Megan Nethercote, RMIT University, stating that, on a national level, 40 per cent of new dwellings are now apartments or units, and building approvals outnumber those for houses. Melbourne and Brisbane are the most extreme cases, but these trends are national; and they are fundamentally reshaping the future of urban Australia. In Melbourne, for example, the inner city is being flooded with 1-2 bedroom micro-apartments set in increasingly tall towers with more than 30 storeys. Almost half are under 50 square metres – not much bigger than a generous double garage.
In Sydney – according to The Courier Mail, Brisbane – a one-bedroom apartment the size of a main bedroom with walk-in wardrobe and only three metres wide sold for $965,000.
The fact that each state in Australia has its own legislation does not make it easier for people to find their way through this jungle of information that is available online and offline.
If you are living or investing in an apartment, this podcast is for you. I am talking with Nikki Jovicic, founder of the online community LookUpStrata. Her site is a treasure chest of useful strata information including fact sheets, blog articles, events, and strata news.
Show Notes
Life in Windowless Box: The Vertical Slums of Melbourne
Apartments the Size of a Broom Cupboard are the Next Big Thing
Are we Falling Short on Good Apartment Design?
Sliding walls, tiny apartments and how to solve the housing shortage
Making apartments better will make them pricier: architect
Affordable housing crisis: ideas are needed to keep workers in Sydney
Solo home buyers tipped to soar
State government needs to be ready because downsizing home means going to town for seniors
Heartbreak high-rise: divorce is growing influence in new-unit sales
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