As housing affordability continues its downward trajectory, pricing many the Australians out of residential markets, the question remains: Is the traditional “great Australian dream” of home ownership still what today’s demographic strive for?
While lifestyle and population has significantly changed over the last two decades, housing requirements have also shifted dramatically.
In Melbourne, voted the world’s second most liveable city in the world, the population growth for 2019 was 179,814 and is predicted to grow further to 384,024 by 2041, population growth figures which are echoed in Brisbane and Sydney.
With the same land space available, an increase in demand for housing is inevitable and will push more and more people to look at apartments or townhouses as a more viable option.
Either this, or they move into the outer suburbs to continue chasing house and land packages.
Not only is population growth changing housing options, but the general pace of life is increasing, with the cost of living rising and families shrinking.
Life expectancy is increasing and therefore the elderly are living independently, as are younger singles.
The ABS has projected that between 3.0 and 3.5 million people could be living alone by 2041. This is up from 2.3 million in 2016.
Families are now having less children with the average in Australia now being just under two and in a lot of cases with both parents working, time for home maintenance is now better spent as recreational time with family and friends.
Enter the townhouse model. The ideal balance for achieving a desirable home with a smaller, manageable land component at a more affordable price than an established home.
For a number of important reasons, the option is becoming increasingly sought after.
1. The townhouse product is affordable.
Compared to established homes in inner and middle ring suburbs, townhouses are opening up more housing opportunity to the CBD workforce or those wanting to be closer to amenities, transport and education.
It also provides similar comforts to an established home, including land but all on a smaller scale.
2. The townhouse product is suited to both investors and owner-occupiers, young and old.
Whilst generally considered to provide a good return on investment for developers, townhouses are also viewed as a "lifetime" product suiting everyone from growing & established families to down-sizers due to their flexible attributes.
Most models are built according to what the market is demanding which is a preference for 2 levels, 3 bedrooms, kitchen, living, dining and full bathroom and a small land component.
The master bedroom or study is downstairs with a second bathroom so that one can live on the ground level if required.
3. The townhouse product takes less time to deliver.
Construction time is typically 6-12 months, not 2-3 years like off-the-plan apartments or houses. This reduces overall costs and inconveniences for both builder and buyer.
With this change in housing requirements, our fast paced lifestyle and the ability to be continually "connected" comes consumer expectations to have everything on demand.
The search for the right housing is no exception to this rule.
This is why dedicated niche listing platforms such as the Townhouse Developments website have taken off — Australia’s first and only website dedicated to searching Townhouses for sale on a national level including those approved by the FIRB.
Commencing it’s journey five years ago, the Townhouse Developments website has progressively become Australia’s preferred channel for developers, project marketers and family builders to advertise and sell their townhouses as well as research relevant data.
At the time of its emergence, townhouse and apartment construction and sales were booming however there was no dedicated platform that was affordable and user-friendly enough for both vendors and buyers.
Today, the website is still dedicated to Townhouses alone with a 24-hour live chat messenger for all agents and advertisers as well as accurate reporting capabilities showing a weekly or monthly break down of leads, contacts, calls and views detailed by each device.
Advertising costs are also affordable as it allows vendors to advertise off the plan, throughout construction and post build all for an affordable price of just $1 per day.
So with townhouses being affordable, smartly-designed and better suited to a modern lifestyle it is no wonder that search demand for this property type is still higher today than it is for apartments, houses or land.
And now with tailored niche websites such as Townhouse Developments, finding what you’re looking for has been made even quicker and easier.
The Urban Developer is proud to partner with Townhouse Developments to deliver this article to you. In doing so, we can continue to publish our free daily news, information, insights and opinion to you, our valued readers.
