Owners and occupiers of apartments throughout Australia have revealed what matters to them in terms of living in apartments and choosing which apartments to purchase or rent.

(image: AI generated via freepix)

Speaking at an event hosted in Melbourne last week, Australian Apartment Advocacy (AAA) CEO Samantha Reece unveiled the findings from AAA’s 2025 Apartment Survey.

Conducted over three months earlier this year, the survey received 1,110 responses from across the apartment sector.

Respondents included owner occupiers (80 percent) renters (5 percent) and investors (15 percent).

Overall, the report suggested that survey participants are mostly positive about their experience with apartments.

Of those surveyed, 64 percent of owners and 63 percent of renters indicated that they would advocate for apartment living.

Delving into the detail, several themes emerged.

(1) Location and walkability are key

Unsurprisingly, the survey revealed that location is the primary driver of apartment buying activity.

All up, 72 percent of respondents listed this as a significant factor behind their reasons for selecting their current apartment.  This was followed by proximity to public transport (50 percent) and affordability (48 percent).

On specific locations, the survey indicates that coastal areas are preferred whilst CBDs are becoming more popular.

According to Reece, this marks a shift which has occurred since AAA’s first survey was conducted eight years ago. At that time, few residents wanted to live in the CBD.

In terms of location, a critical concept is walkability.

Asked specifically about likeable features of their current location, 73 percent, 68 percent and 67 percent of respondents nominated proximity to public transport, shops and cafes and restaurants.

In Victoria, for example, Recce suggests that people in places such as Docklands appreciate the ability to be able to casually walk to the theatre, restaurants and shops as and when they feel like doing so.

By contrast, developments which do not enjoy walkable access to transport and amenity may be more difficult to sell.

(2) Security is essential/environment is lower but growing

A key feature highlighted in the report is the importance of security.

All up, 72 percent of survey respondents indicated that safety and security was either extremely or very important when selecting the most recent apartment which they either purchased or rented.

This was followed by price/affordability, minimal maintenance and the importance of being easily able to ‘lock up and leave’.

Security features were also top of the list (49 percent) when respondents were asked what they like about their current apartment.

According to Reece the importance of security is growing as an increasing number of women buy into apartments.

When marketing to prospective buyers, she encourages developers to highlight features such as CCTV or secure electronic access to apartments.

Ideally, access should be limited to the floor of people’s residence and any necessary amenity.

To prevent potential thieves or others from accessing ground floor dwellings, many ground floor residents would appreciate a second door which can be only opened by those who live on that floor.

Meanwhile, the data indicates that sustainability and environmental considerations are not a large driver of current purchasing and renting decisions.

All up, only 27 percent of survey respondents ranked environmental and sustainability credentials as being either extremely or very important in their most recent purchasing or renting decision. This put sustainability at second bottom in the list of nine criteria which drove purchasing decisions.

Despite this, Reece says that the importance of sustainability is growing.

(Image via freepik)

(3) Storage is king

Also highlighted was the need for storage.

When asked what they would change about their current apartment, 32 percent of survey respondents nominated that they would like more storage. This was followed by more parking bays for their apartment (22 percent), a larger apartment overall (20 percent) and a better designed kitchen (19 percent).

When speaking about this, Reece emphasises that women are typically the primary decision makers when couples select an apartment. (She stresses that architects should always have at least one female on their design team for apartment complexes.)

When assessing potential apartments, Recce says that women will often zero in on matters such as ‘where’s my vacuum cleaner going?’ or ‘where’s my Christmas tree going to be stored?’ The size and positioning of pantries will also be keenly noticed.

(4) Do you really need that gym?

Another survey finding is that a significant number of residents do not actually use all of the amenities which are provided.

Amongst survey respondents, 54 percent, 46 percent, 43 percent and 43 percent indicated that their complexes offered communal gardens, BBQ facilities, outdoor entertaining areas and gymnasiums respectively.

However, only 26 percent, 15 percent, 18 percent and 19 percent of respondents actually used these facilities (a further 19 percent, 18 percent, 14 percent and 13 percent were glad to have these facilities even though they did not use them).

For developers, Recce says that this raises questions about which amenities are in fact needed.

This question is especially pertinent for those complexes which are geared toward the affordable end of the market.

(5) Display apartments are crucial

Next, the survey highlighted the benefit of display homes.

All up, less than half of all respondents (45 percent) were able to see a display home prior to their most recent purchase.

However, the ability to view a display home had a significant impact upon purchasing behaviour.

Whereas 14 percent of those who did not see a display home ended up buying off the plan, this number jumped to 57 percent for those who saw a display apartment.

Furthermore, 59 percent of survey respondents indicated that they are not comfortable in buying an apartment off the plan – a phenomenon which display apartments could help to address.

All this indicates that developers who fail to provide display apartments are missing out on sales.

According to Reece, this is unsurprising as the ability to touch and feel a display unit provides a tangible and intuitive means through which prospective buyers can sense and visualise important details. These include matters such as the position of door openings, the need or otherwise for sliding doors and the position of couches.

By contrast, many buyers find drawings, floor plans and diagrams to be confusing.

(Image via freepik)

(6) Empower buyers through customisation

Also important for developers is empowering people through customisation.

Of those buyers who purchased off the plan during their most recent purchase, more than three quarters (77 percent) were afforded the ability to customise the design of their apartment.

Of those who were not afforded this ability, almost three quarters (74 percent) say they would have liked to have had that option.

According to Reece, the ability to control a degree of the design enables buyers to feel a greater sense of empowerment and makes them more likely to make the purchase.

(7) Defects are killing Australia’s apartment market

A final observation is that building defects are impacting demand for new apartments.

Out of all survey respondents, only around half (51 percent) say they would buy or rent another apartment if they moved out.

This is well down from previous surveys in which Reece says that number was closer to 70 percent.

As mentioned above, meanwhile, almost six in ten survey respondents (59 percent) indicated that they were not comfortable with buying an apartment off the plan.

Whilst other factors contribute to these observations, Reece says that stories and experiences of serious defects being uncovered in apartments are a significant factor.

According to Reece, the consequences of defects can be especially significant for individual owners in large apartment complexes on account of the complexity involved in pursuing action through the owners corporation.

She adds that concerns about potential defects are serving as a barrier to developers in generating presales and is a significant reason why Australia is not building the number of apartment complexes which it needs.

Over the long run, Reece says that developers who deliver apartments with defects are turning consumers off apartments and destroying their own market.

“If you’ve moved from a house where you are king of the castle, and you are moving into a body corporate where you a one in a hundred and the body corporate is taking a long time to make decisions, how do you feel?” Reece said.

“Disempowered.

“And then if you have defects and that is a nightmare, how do you feel about the apartment lifestyle? Not great.

“So you (developers) don’t want to have defects because you are actually annihilating your own market.

“You are destroying your own market.”

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