Apartment life a growing choice for Sydneysiders

APARTMENT living is the way of the future for many Sydneysiders with homeowners' priorities changing and new developments evolving.

Apartment Living Jill and Cameron Evans

APARTMENT living is the way of the future for many Sydneysiders. Homeowners' priorities are changing and new developments are evolving to meet the shift in demand.

"There are 1.5 million people living in strata buildings in NSW," said David Ferguson, Strata Community Australia president.

"In 20 years, it is anticipated there will be another million. By then, more owners will be living in strata buildings than in houses."

Such a shift means the old ideal of house and lawn is a thing of the past.

"The great Australian dream is now to own your own 'place' but that doesn't mean owning a quarter acre block with a house in the middle of it," said Mr Ferguson. "People choose to live in apartments so they are close to work, family or the schools they want to be in."

Grattan Institute research found the most important factor for Sydney residents when choosing a home was not the type of property, but the number of bedrooms.

"We are more focused on inside space these days. An apartment with three bedrooms is more valuable than a house with two," Pitney Bowes Software chief economic Bob Schwartz said.

Other important factors were security, proximity to shops and transport and access to family and friends.

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"We've been here for 11 years and in the last five or six years, there has been an extraordinary influx of families into the complex," said Jill Evans, who lives with her son Cameron in a two-bedroom apartment in Willoughby. "My balcony is full of friends every Friday night."

Ms Evans' building has a cafe, childcare centre, swimming pools and dedicated function room.

"If you want a house in Willoughby, you're going to get a dog box for a million bucks," she said.

Na Wong, another single mother, enjoys the security of apartment life. She also believes apartments are becoming more innovative and comfortable.

"In the 1950s, you had apartment blocks right on the foreshore, with no balconies," she said. "Newer apartments bring the outside in, with big balconies for entertainment and outdoor dining spaces. People don't feel like they're missing out by living in an apartment."

New innovation can also mean creative facilities, according to Mr Ferguson.

"A development in Top Ryde actually has sound proofed music rooms, where kids can go to play drums, and guitars," he said. "If you're in a house and have to listen to the kids playing music non-stop, it can be more painful than having those extra facilities."

Five Dock resident Joe Kensell, 75, has spent his whole married life in a two-bedroom apartment and raised his two daughters there.

"The great thing is it prevents hoarding," Mr Kensell said. "You don't waste money on something that ends up in a garage or back shed."

In 36 years at his current home, Mr Kensell said the biggest test was during his daughters' teen years.

"There was plenty of fighting over wardrobe space, but they still talk to each other," he said. "It's hard to find a place where you can zone out and get some space to yourself, but being close to each other teaches you how to get along with people and not get in their face so much."