Census 2021: High demand for city apartments

High-rise apartments are becoming an important housing medium for Australia’s growing population with developers putting greater emphasis on amenity.

‘It’s ­accessible, easy, and in the action,’ says Dan Jarvis, who sold his suburban townhouse to buy into a high-rise tower in the heart of Brisbane. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

High-rise apartments are becoming an important housing medium for Australia’s growing population, with developers putting greater emphasis on amenity for buyers wanting the city lifestyle.

A new question introduced in the 2021 census revealed that more than half a million households live in the country’s 370,000 high-rise apartment towers as Australia’s changing demographic make-up.

Looking into the buyer profile of those purchasing within apartments projects, property developer Mirvac found homeowners who were upgrading accounted for 42 per cent of buyers last financial year. Downsizers and empty-nesters made up 39 per cent of buyer pool while first-time buyers purchased 19 per cent of the units.

Mirvac’s head of residential, Stuart Penkils said early pandemic predictions that Australians would turn away in droves from inner-city apartments had not eventuated.

“Historically, there was an argument that living in an apartment was a compromise,” he said.

“With all the amenity and social and physical infrastructure that now exists in inner-city living, people actually have had a great taste of that during Covid and don’t want to lose that.”

Millenials are now the largest generation in Australia and more couples are remaining childless. Demographer Simon Kuestenmacher said the city still had appeal for younger Australians and professionals. “There are, of course, students, there are young, early career workers,” he said.

“It makes sense if you haven’t partnered up to live and play in the centre of town because you have a larger dating pool and just generally wider choice of activities.

“You also have a couple of ­urbanites, if you will, that really want to stay in the heart of town and these tend to be largely childless couples.”

Dan Jarvis, 40, lives by the philosophy of live smarter, not harder. He has lived in a house and townhouse in suburbia but by far prefers his one-bedroom apartment in Kokoda Property’s Chester and Ella project, in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Newstead.

“It’s a better quality of life,” says the HR representative. “It’s ­accessible, easy, and in the action. I don’t have to rely on public transport, I just use the publicly available scooters or bike to work.”

Ten per cent of Australian households now live in apartments, according to the census. The data also revealed a significant rise in one-bedroom households between the two most recent counts.

The influx of buyers looking to live in the property rather than hold it as an investment has changed developer thinking around projects to include greater amenities.