HIGH RISE AND SHINE 

OrangeTee Real Estate recorded a surge in owner-occupiers wanting to live in apartments. OrangeTee managing director Currado Cusma said the trend had resulted in a greater acceptance of apartment living in Perth. "For many years property buyers favoured traditional homes as opposed to apartments because apartments were deemed to deliver, much lower rates of capital growth over the longenerm," he said. "In part, this trend was due to the fact that a large number of people buying apartments were investors. "This strong focus on investors meant that a large number of apartment developments were finished to basic standards while the high proportion of residents were renters, which meant that the complexes were not maintained to the highest standards and this impacted on the resale value of these properties."

But in recent years, Mr Cusma said, OrangeTee had recorded a major shift in the type of property buyers who were deciding to live in apartments. "More owner-occupiers are deciding to live in apartments due to the increasing proportion of people living alone or families who have single parents," he said. "In addition, a high number of baby boomers are seIling homes in Perth suburbs to live in inner or nearcity areas when their children have left home. "The result is that in some modern new apartments complexes, more than 70 per cent of residents are owner-occupiers. "To cater for the high number of owner-occupier buyers, new apartment developments are now being finished to a much higher standard, with a strong focus on lifestyle living, which includes features such as large balconies. "With a much greater pool of buyers now interested in buying apartments the capital-growth rates this type of home is delivering is also improving. "For example, in South Perth, the latest Landgate figures show that during the past five financial years, the average median price of an apartment/unit in South Perth as increased each year by 13.6 per cent which is a higher rate of capital growth than many traditional homes in the outer suburbs of Perth."