New allotment sizes

There are two major Australian housing demographic shapers over the next decade.

These two next big waves are first home buyers and downsizers.

Both these markets are looking for affordable housing outcomes and often, smaller homes with less maintenance.

Smaller lots - especially those near high quality offsets like parks, cafes and views – are in increasing demand.

Most of us have busy lifestyles, and much of a family’s spare time is now structured around kids’ sports, after-school activities and homework.

For the adults going to the gymnasium is more popular than kicking the footy in the backyard.

And when we have a catchup with friends or relatives, the local café or boutique pub beats cleaning up the house post event and having your house and possessions critiqued by others.

How can they live like that?  Oh, I thought they would have better stuff?  Did you see the state of the bathroom?

Who needs the aggravation?

Besides we are spending more and more time in front of our digital screens and less leisure time outdoors or with friends/relatives.

Well at least not face to face.

And if the car hiring and car sharing trends are taken up by the mainstream, then less private land will be needed for the second or third car.

Well maybe.

Cars aside, these trends are also driving allotment sizes smaller.

Pun intended.

The next ten years

Table 1 below outlines the more commonly used allotment typology.

Our recent work suggests that we are likely to see further shifts towards more smaller allotments.

Pricing benchmarks

Some think this is just a scam, a means by which developers can charge more per metre of dirt sold, and yes, they do charge more per square metre for the smaller allotments.

Yet developers can only charge what the market will bear and the second table shows that over the past decade, buyers are placing a premium on the smaller allotments.

This trend, I think, will accelerate in the future.

About Michael Matusik Michael is director of independent property advisory Matusik Property Insights. He is independent, perceptive and to the point; has helped over 550 new residential developments come to fruition and writes his insightful Matusik Missive