Any apartment guidelines the Victorian government introduces must balance enhanced design outcomes against potential impacts to purchaser and renter affordability, without undermining the function of apartments within the overall housing market spectrum, says Robert Papaleo, National Executive Director of Charter Keck Cramer, Australia's leading independent property consultancy firm and an expert in apartment data.

Apartments provide more affordable housing choices to meet the needs of Melbourne’s growing population, so it makes sense for the Victorian government to review design guidelines for new apartment development, says
Papaleo.

“The contribution from investment in new apartment development to the Victorian economy is significant," he said. "Imposition of inappropriate guidelines may detrimentally impact the viability of projects and risk the realisation of benefits that accrue from production of new apartment supply. Any new guidelines need to respect the critical role that apartments play in delivering new affordable housing."

The Victorian government’s Better Apartments – A Discussion Paper uses data from Charter Keck Cramer's national apartment database. The firm has been monitoring new apartment project development across Melbourne for the past 25 years since first providing valuation and advisory services for many of the initial Central City projects.