But aside from this, apartment developments have also dramatically shifted the way we live with the features and amenities that are on offer to residents.

Australia has been slow on the uptake on apartment living, when you consider places such as New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. The game has changed and developers are now looking overseas for inspiration to deliver a much more considered offering featuring more amenities and usable spaces.

New developments have stepped up a great deal from older apartments and now offer residents things they probably didn’t think was possible. They are no longer just a roof over people’s heads but innovation in property developments is shaping the way we live and even has potential to set the trends for the future of living entirely.

Focus on lifestyle

More apartments have features that are for the benefit of everyone. It started with gyms and swimming pools but now it can be everything from a rooftop terrace with barbeques and even an indoor forest exclusively for residents to enjoy. This scale of innovation could never be replicated in typical residential homes which gives apartments a certain edge in shaping what is part of our lives.
There’s a greater emphasis on improving quality of life and reducing the lifestyle compromises that people assume come with living in an apartment over a house. Shifting away from concrete jungles, greenery is becoming incorporated into developments worldwide with innovative methods where apartments also serve a lifestyle purpose by including wellness features.

It’s not just people that are considered in lifestyle features either.

People have traditionally assumed that pets and apartments would never be able to intersect. Today, there’s an increasing number of apartments that cater to our furry friends, from dog parks to dog washes.

It changes how we live entirely by enhancing lifestyles rather than expecting people to ‘make-do’ with limited space and a lack of everything. Being centrally located, many developments also encourage walkability and reduce the need to own a car. This is enhanced with car-sharing facilities, which save the need to spend a lot of money on the full cost of a vehicle as well as petrol and maintenance.

Most people’s homes do not have gym rooms, built-in pet features or chef-designed kitchens; so innovation in apartments is really paving the way for future living.

Vertical living

Apartments in older suburbs, whether it be Art-deco villas or 1960s retro flats, were hardly more than three levels high. Today, suburbs are home to complexes that far exceed that.

While some people will always prefer low-rise boutique developments, even these are usually built at four levels today. Townhouses are no longer only two levels high but can be four-storeys, showing that vertical living is also becoming much more popular.

Street frontages for townhomes are getting smaller, and hence vertical living is on the rise. While some people will be completely opposed to it, most don’t mind at all. People are growing accustomed to living across multiple levels, and even penthouse apartments can be across two-levels.  

What’s next?

We can expect to continue to see more innovative features implemented in apartment developments which will no doubt have an impact on the way we live. With more developments coming to life in Australia, new and exciting additions will continue to be a part of these to offer variety and differentiation to the market.

Tech and security features have already started to become more of a ‘standard’ than unexpected and the same will occur with other facilities. This shift is what Australians have been waiting for, and with anticipated population growth we don’t foresee this sector slowing down, in fact we feel it is the developers who are needing to adapt to the customer needs which ensures a greater outcome for everyone.

Apartments will grow more akin to houses where the things people feel they have had to leave behind will be making a comeback. The additional features to be added in the future will continue to save residents money, push boundaries and make apartments more popular for Australians.

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