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- With the advent of COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns over the past year, budding home buyers are becoming less eager on apartments
- NAB data shows interest in apartments and the desire to be close to the CBD has weakened
- There has been a noticeable swing towards single dwelling housing, as CoreLogic reported at the end of March that the six-month trend in house sales was tracking 16.5 per cent above the decade average, while unit sales were 0.3 per cent lower than average
- Despite the potential change in preferences, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) approvals for private sector townhouses and units up 45.3 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms, coming off a nine-year low in January
- In a similar vein, consideration of a move to regional areas is swelling, with 85 per cent listing this as a more important factor
With the advent of COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns over the past year, budding home buyers are becoming less eager on apartments.
New NAB data showed that must-have factors in a home have changed since COVID-19.
Unsurprisingly, given a lengthy stint working from home, the top change is the need for a work or study area.
In contrast interest in apartments and the desire to be close to the CBD has also weakened.
Despite this, Western Australia has been witnessing a boom in apartment sales.
Unit sales increased 58 per cent in Perth in the March 2021 quarter compared to the March 2020 quarter, according to REIWA.
REIWA President Damian Collins attributes this to a shortage of houses on the market and investors buying units.
However, nationally there has been a noticeable swing towards single dwelling housing, as CoreLogic reported at the end of March that the six-month trend in house sales was tracking 16.5 per cent above the decade average, while unit sales were 0.3 per cent lower than average.
Rents are also going down nationally, with SQM Research noting a minor fall of 0.2 per cent in capital city unit rents in April, however, smaller capital cities, like Perth and Darwin have seen growth.
Despite the potential change in preferences, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) approvals for private sector townhouses and units are up 45.3 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms, coming off a nine-year low in January.
NAB Executive Home Ownership Andy Kerr said more flexible working arrangements have driven the change in preferences, with commute times becoming less of a factor.
“For many, the great Australian dream is a spacious home with a nice backyard for entertaining and it’s more affordable in outer suburbs and regional towns than the inner-city,” Kerr said.
“As a result, it’s been no surprise to see price growth in regional areas outpacing capital cities.”
The research, which surveyed 330 property professionals, including investors, real estate agents and developers, reveals around nine in 10, or 86 per cent, see a study or work area as more important now to homebuyers than it was pre-pandemic.
Other factors to hold greater value include good local shopping, restaurants and amenities at 75 per cent, the size of the property at 65 per cent, buying a house over an apartment at 63 per cent and access to good public transport at 51 per cent.
The factor that has shown the greatest decline in importance is the need to be in a metro area, with 57 per cent saying this is now less important. Victorians are seen most willing to move away from metro areas on the back of Melbourne’s longer lockdown.
In a similar vein, consideration of a move to regional areas is swelling, with 85 per cent listing this as a more important factor. Buyers in NSW, home to Australia’s most expensive capital, are seen to be keenest to consider a regional move.
Regional markets have been outpacing growth in capital city housing until March this year, with CoreLogic noting an 11.4 per cent increase in regional housing values over the past year.
