The changing face of apartment sales
Traditionally the target market for those buying apartments has been the first time buyer and the property investor. Recently this trend has begun to change. It is common to see baby boomers downsizing and take extended holidays around Australia or the world. Many have sold the family home and have down sized to an easier to manage premises. It appears that this generation now favour apartments, and this is making for a new twist in the development of apartment complexes. Something which is new to a lot of agents is seeing first time buyers and baby boomers both competing for the same apartment. This would have been a rare site only a few years ago.
This change may be attributed to lifestyle issues that go beyond just an apartment. They have lifestyles which are remarkably similar; that is they are both physically and mentally active, have more free time and want to live where the action is. In both cases they don’t want to have to maintain a house and mow a yard and are looking for a free lifestyle with the comfort that an apartment can provide. As these changes are entering the market developers are feeling pressure to accommodate this changing landscape in order to maximize business.
As these types of complexes become more common, people are expecting more from developers within their apartment. This change in lifestyle is also encouraged by the government who have initiated a scheme which allows seniors who downsize to have up to two hundred thousand dollars of the sale proceeds quarantined from Centrelink’s means testing for the age pension.
The interest in high density living may not be for all people but this new focus on lifestyle could likely attract the attention of many tired of living in the suburban sprawl. Our private lives are now lived more publicly, back yard views are changing to city views and our kitchen, dining and living spaces have become more communal. As our needs change, the country changes and its real estate reflects these changes.
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