Latest news with #AustralianHousingandUrbanResearchInstitute
Sydney Morning Herald
05-07-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
The cheapest way to invest, help your kids or buy a first home
Inner Melbourne had an apartment building boom in the 2010s. Victoria reached a peak of 1.55 non-house dwellings completed per 1000 residents by the March quarter of 2017, while NSW completed 1.17 non-house dwellings per 1000 residents in the same period, ABS figures show. Richard Temlett, Charter Keck Cramer executive research director, said Melbourne's apartment market was cheaper than Sydney's because it was 'catching up'. The company's analysis of 2011 and 2021 census data found almost 82,000 occupied private one-bedroom apartments in Melbourne in 2021, up 48.7 per cent in a decade, compared with 123,000 in Sydney, up 54.9 per cent. 'Sydney has a more mature apartment market with more owner-occupiers, while Melbourne has more investors,' Temlett said. 'Sydney also has minimum apartment sizes, which means bigger and more expensive.' For Michael Fotheringham, managing director at the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, this is the crux of the problem. In 2002, NSW introduced apartment standards. 'Victoria was less restrictive on that,' he said, and set minimum standards only in 2017. Loading 'So we built a lot of tiny apartments that appeal to a very niche market and they have not appreciated, which is why they are available more cheaply,' he said. The issue, however, is complicated, especially in light of an affordability crisis. Before the minimum standards, some Melbourne units had issues with flammable cladding, tiny kitchens, borrowed light and poor ventilation. Last month, the Victorian government green-lit apartments in a Greensborough development that fall short of minimum space requirements to meet its ambitious housing targets. 'There are differing views on the trade-offs here: in a supply crisis, some say we should just be building something … rather than worrying about quality and livability standards,' Fotheringham said. Loading It's an issue canvassed in Abundance, a new book being well read among the federal cabinet, which argues progressives' regulation to ensure quality housing turned into a maze of red tape, leaving people worse off. Australians' enduring obsession with houses was also a problem, Fotheringham said, as it made apartments a less attractive long-term option, influencing their design. But not everyone dreams of a big house. When 31-year-old communications professional Mitchell Blincoe started looking to buy his first home, he knew it would be a one-bedroom apartment in Melbourne's inner suburbs. 'Within what I was willing to spend, one-bedroom apartments were the only option in the inner-city area,' Blincoe said. He found a one-bedroom flat in North Melbourne with courtyard and study nook. Blincoe paid $378,000, $6000 more than it sold for in August 2024. 'If I keep it forever, that's great, and if I decide to rent it out it has good rental potential, as it's close to the University of Melbourne and the city,' he said. 'I didn't buy for resale or for capital gain – my objectives were lifestyle and affordability.' Melcorp Real Estate's Mattia Pecorino, who sold Blincoe his flat, said one-bedroom apartments on the outskirts of Melbourne's CBD with 'decent space' and amenities usually cost upwards of $300,000. The 'significantly smaller' inner-city builds, mostly short-term rentals or serviced apartments, fetched about $180,000 to $260,000. 'I've sold a few of the smaller ones lately to interstate purchasers that have noticed the market has bottomed out there,' he said. 'People who purchased off the plan for high $400,000s or low $500,000s three to four years ago … are lucky if they can achieve $400,000 on resale today.'
The Age
05-07-2025
- Business
- The Age
The cheapest way to invest, help your kids or buy a first home
Inner Melbourne had an apartment building boom in the 2010s. Victoria reached a peak of 1.55 non-house dwellings completed per 1000 residents by the March quarter of 2017, while NSW completed 1.17 non-house dwellings per 1000 residents in the same period, ABS figures show. Richard Temlett, Charter Keck Cramer executive research director, said Melbourne's apartment market was cheaper than Sydney's because it was 'catching up'. The company's analysis of 2011 and 2021 census data found almost 82,000 occupied private one-bedroom apartments in Melbourne in 2021, up 48.7 per cent in a decade, compared with 123,000 in Sydney, up 54.9 per cent. 'Sydney has a more mature apartment market with more owner-occupiers, while Melbourne has more investors,' Temlett said. 'Sydney also has minimum apartment sizes, which means bigger and more expensive.' For Michael Fotheringham, managing director at the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, this is the crux of the problem. In 2002, NSW introduced apartment standards. 'Victoria was less restrictive on that,' he said, and set minimum standards only in 2017. Loading 'So we built a lot of tiny apartments that appeal to a very niche market and they have not appreciated, which is why they are available more cheaply,' he said. The issue, however, is complicated, especially in light of an affordability crisis. Before the minimum standards, some Melbourne units had issues with flammable cladding, tiny kitchens, borrowed light and poor ventilation. Last month, the Victorian government green-lit apartments in a Greensborough development that fall short of minimum space requirements to meet its ambitious housing targets. 'There are differing views on the trade-offs here: in a supply crisis, some say we should just be building something … rather than worrying about quality and livability standards,' Fotheringham said. Loading It's an issue canvassed in Abundance, a new book being well read among the federal cabinet, which argues progressives' regulation to ensure quality housing turned into a maze of red tape, leaving people worse off. Australians' enduring obsession with houses was also a problem, Fotheringham said, as it made apartments a less attractive long-term option, influencing their design. But not everyone dreams of a big house. When 31-year-old communications professional Mitchell Blincoe started looking to buy his first home, he knew it would be a one-bedroom apartment in Melbourne's inner suburbs. 'Within what I was willing to spend, one-bedroom apartments were the only option in the inner-city area,' Blincoe said. He found a one-bedroom flat in North Melbourne with courtyard and study nook. Blincoe paid $378,000, $6000 more than it sold for in August 2024. 'If I keep it forever, that's great, and if I decide to rent it out it has good rental potential, as it's close to the University of Melbourne and the city,' he said. 'I didn't buy for resale or for capital gain – my objectives were lifestyle and affordability.' Melcorp Real Estate's Mattia Pecorino, who sold Blincoe his flat, said one-bedroom apartments on the outskirts of Melbourne's CBD with 'decent space' and amenities usually cost upwards of $300,000. The 'significantly smaller' inner-city builds, mostly short-term rentals or serviced apartments, fetched about $180,000 to $260,000. 'I've sold a few of the smaller ones lately to interstate purchasers that have noticed the market has bottomed out there,' he said. 'People who purchased off the plan for high $400,000s or low $500,000s three to four years ago … are lucky if they can achieve $400,000 on resale today.'
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Average Australian homes tops A$1m amid housing crisis
The average price of an Australian home has surpassed A$1m ($652,000; £483,000) for the first time, as the nation grapples with a housing affordability crisis. Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) this week estimate the average home was worth A$1,002,500 in the March quarter, up 0.7 per cent from the previous quarter. The nation is home to some of the least affordable cities on Earth, where buying or renting a place is increasingly out of reach for many Australians. Experts say the crisis is being driving by a lack of homes, a growing population, tax incentives for property investors, and inadequate investment in social housing. The country's most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), continues to have the priciest homes on average, at A$1.2m, followed by Queensland at A$945k, according to the ABS. The agency's Mish Tan said the states of Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland were the "main drivers of the rise". While the average price of homes climbed in all states and territories in the March quarter, the annual growth rate is slowing, she added. The figures take in Australia's 11.3m dwellings - including the full gamut of property types, from freestanding homes, to terrace houses and apartments. Michael Fotheringham, head of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, is not surprised to see the $1m benchmark crossed. Though a "daunting" and "compelling" statistic, he says it is the result of a years-long national trend of home prices outpacing wages and leaving the housing system "very strained". "This isn't just an affordability problem for lower income households - this is very much a problem for medium-income households as well," he said. "Globally we're seeing the term housing crisis being used in many developed countries," he added, "[but] our housing prices have risen sharply so it's one of the less affordable countries overall." Rental availability has also been a problem in recent years, and there isn't enough social housing to meet demand either. Australia's looming election brings housing crisis into focus The year the Australian Dream died Canada is facing similar challenges, Dr Fotheringham said, but the UK was markedly different as it has more council estates and social housing in the mix. However, the UK and Australia do share what he called "ambitious housing targets" with Australia hoping to build 1.2m homes and the UK 1.5m homes within the next five years. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese - who won a second term last month at an election where housing was a top issue - on Tuesday said his government was looking to further reduce red tape for developers. They have long complained that planning laws prevent them from building enough homes. "One of the things that we have to do is to make it easier," he said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, adding "developers say that it's just too complex [and it] adds to costs as well".
Sydney Morning Herald
21-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Sydney Morning Herald
$800 a week for that? The battle for better apartment design
I've always rejected one-bedroom apartment listings that show bed, kitchenette and toilet in tight proximity, but I've lived in plenty of apartments. And while I prefer a detached house, I know that if I ever want to buy a home in Brisbane, I'll probably have to downsize my ideas. It's a reality that Brisbane is grappling with broadly. We've held on to the Australian ideal of a home with a backyard for longer than Sydney and Melbourne, but as our population grows, we have little choice but to embrace mixed density. Census data from 2021 shows 60.2 per cent of all dwellings in the City of Brisbane were separate houses. High density accounted for 21.4 per cent of dwellings, and medium density for 17.8 per cent. The latter figures will nearly certainly grow after the next census in 2026. The question then becomes: what makes a well-designed apartment? The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute says good apartments have the same qualities as well-designed homes, and they're comfortable places to occupy. Social enterprise organisation Cities People Love looked at how apartment design policies affect design quality and, in turn, the health and wellbeing of apartment dwellers. Their study measured the implementation of 96 design requirements that could plausibly affect health, from policies in NSW, Western Australia and Victoria, and across 172 buildings in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne. They found residents who felt more positive or satisfied with the design of their apartment had higher mental wellbeing, 'with the strongest evidence for natural ventilation, summer-time thermal comfort, indoor space and layout, and communal space quality in the apartment building'. Loading While I wonder how the 'unsellable' Melbourne developments might fair against the study's metrics, plenty of Brisbane proposals come to mind. Last year, billionaire developer Harry Triguboff unveiled plans to build twin towers on Alice Street overlooking the city's botanic gardens, adding more than 1000 units to Brisbane's CBD. Replies to this masthead's story conveyed the cynicism felt towards this style of apartment living. 'Very bad feng shui living in one of those places,' one reader commented. Another replied: 'Nothing says welcome like a thousand overpriced concrete chook boxes.' Of course, Meriton's twin towers sit on the more extreme end of density. An 'apartment' could also be a unit in a six-pack, like the blocks that dominate New Farm. A few weeks ago, I did a walk-through of Canvas, a luxury three-storey apartment building in Bulimba designed by architecture practice Bureau Proberts. They turned the site of two old warehouses on a 1600-square-metre block into 21 apartments, or – as Bureau creative director Liam Proberts describes it – 'a 21-pack'. Canvas mimics the advantageous qualities of a detached home and builds on the philosophy that good design, implemented by architects and developers, can make apartment living more desirable. Loading 'These were specifically designed for people to live in, rather than what often becomes a rental or investment property,' Proberts says. 'To do that, you need to have a sense of place and identity ... because you want to feel at home. 'We were taking back the qualities of Queensland living, where people are used to a backyard, and translating it into apartment living. It's a home alternative.' A three-bedroom Canvas unit sold last year for $2.2 million, having previously sold for $1.9 million in 2022.
The Age
21-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Age
$800 a week for that? The battle for better apartment design
I've always rejected one-bedroom apartment listings that show bed, kitchenette and toilet in tight proximity, but I've lived in plenty of apartments. And while I prefer a detached house, I know that if I ever want to buy a home in Brisbane, I'll probably have to downsize my ideas. It's a reality that Brisbane is grappling with broadly. We've held on to the Australian ideal of a home with a backyard for longer than Sydney and Melbourne, but as our population grows, we have little choice but to embrace mixed density. Census data from 2021 shows 60.2 per cent of all dwellings in the City of Brisbane were separate houses. High density accounted for 21.4 per cent of dwellings, and medium density for 17.8 per cent. The latter figures will nearly certainly grow after the next census in 2026. The question then becomes: what makes a well-designed apartment? The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute says good apartments have the same qualities as well-designed homes, and they're comfortable places to occupy. Social enterprise organisation Cities People Love looked at how apartment design policies affect design quality and, in turn, the health and wellbeing of apartment dwellers. Their study measured the implementation of 96 design requirements that could plausibly affect health, from policies in NSW, Western Australia and Victoria, and across 172 buildings in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne. They found residents who felt more positive or satisfied with the design of their apartment had higher mental wellbeing, 'with the strongest evidence for natural ventilation, summer-time thermal comfort, indoor space and layout, and communal space quality in the apartment building'. Loading While I wonder how the 'unsellable' Melbourne developments might fair against the study's metrics, plenty of Brisbane proposals come to mind. Last year, billionaire developer Harry Triguboff unveiled plans to build twin towers on Alice Street overlooking the city's botanic gardens, adding more than 1000 units to Brisbane's CBD. Replies to this masthead's story conveyed the cynicism felt towards this style of apartment living. 'Very bad feng shui living in one of those places,' one reader commented. Another replied: 'Nothing says welcome like a thousand overpriced concrete chook boxes.' Of course, Meriton's twin towers sit on the more extreme end of density. An 'apartment' could also be a unit in a six-pack, like the blocks that dominate New Farm. A few weeks ago, I did a walk-through of Canvas, a luxury three-storey apartment building in Bulimba designed by architecture practice Bureau Proberts. They turned the site of two old warehouses on a 1600-square-metre block into 21 apartments, or – as Bureau creative director Liam Proberts describes it – 'a 21-pack'. Canvas mimics the advantageous qualities of a detached home and builds on the philosophy that good design, implemented by architects and developers, can make apartment living more desirable. Loading 'These were specifically designed for people to live in, rather than what often becomes a rental or investment property,' Proberts says. 'To do that, you need to have a sense of place and identity ... because you want to feel at home. 'We were taking back the qualities of Queensland living, where people are used to a backyard, and translating it into apartment living. It's a home alternative.' A three-bedroom Canvas unit sold last year for $2.2 million, having previously sold for $1.9 million in 2022.
