Biggest trends

Apartments becoming more common

After decades of standalone housing dominating the supply pipeline, apartments are becoming more common in major cities, although remaining less common in smaller regions. This trend is driven by affordability, better apartment designs, and lifestyle changes that align with apartment living.

Wider residential market starting to recover

Independent forecasters are typically predicting house prices will rise over 2024. Interest rates are likely to be the main influence on the market in the short-term. Strong migration and constrained housing supply are likely to continue to drive long-term price growth.

Migration boosting demand

Surging migration is adding pressures to the housing market. Pressure is initially focused on the rental markets given migrants tend to rent first. It is expected this will place pressure on first home buyers to purchase and will encourage more activity by investors.

Outlook for the market

Mixing it up

Developers are diversifying by including more one and three bedroom apartments in their schemes, alongside the two bedroom product which has anchored most projects historically. This is driven by a desire to position their product across a wider range of buyer price points, demographics and functional needs.

High-end gets the luxe treatment

Some projects are pushing specifications to new heights to help differentiate their product and target luxury buyers by offering truly distinctive features. This is apparent across a range of aspects including internal finishes, building amenities and building services.

Slower sell down

Persistently high construction costs mean higher prices are needed for new developments to be feasible. Combined with softer market conditions, this is leading to slower sales of new product and some schemes pausing until the market improves.

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