Twenty Percent of Sydney Apartments Are Families- New Research

Research by McCrindle for the Urban Taskforce has identified four emerging household types within Sydney's apartment market and predicts that half of Sydney's homes will be apartments within a generation.

By API

| 12-12-2017 | News | 2 min read

(Image source: Shutterstock.com)

Research by McCrindle for the Urban Taskforce has identified four emerging household types within Sydney’s apartment market and predicts that half of Sydney’s homes will be apartments within a generation.

“With 30% of Sydney homes now being apartments the Urban Taskforce undertook detailed research to find out which household types are preferring apartment living,” says Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson. “We were amazed to find out that 20% of the apartments are occupied by nulcear families and a further 8% are occupied by one-parent families. They choose apartment living due to access to public transport, affordability, safety & security and access to schools and childcare.”

“The Urban Taskforce commissioned McCrindle to undertake research into who lives in apartments through polling of 1,500 people and through analysis of the 2016 census data. The research also enabled a comparison to be made between the attitudes and preferences of apartment dwellers with detached house dwellers.""

“The research was stimulated by the growing concerns across Sydney about increased densities and the swing to apartment living. The concerns have been picked up by politicians who seem to have become nervous about apartment buildings generally. What the research shows is that nuclear families, couples without children, single people and one-parent families have welcomed the apartment lifestyle with its access to amenities and public transport.”

“Politicians must pay attention to the various demographic groups who live in apartments as they can have a different political preference to house dwellers. Our research shows that three of the four groups living in apartments are most likely to vote for the Labor Party while only the urban couples with no children are most likely to vote for the coalition. As suburbs increase the number of apartments as a proportion of all homes it is likely that the voting preferences will change.”

The four emerging household types are Vertical Families, Cosmo Couples, Solo Metropolites and One- Parent Families. With each of these household types, the research identifies why they chose apartment living and the suburbs they prefer to live in.

Verticle Families

This group makes up 20% of apartment households:

61% are renters
64% are likely to be aged between 23 and 37
58% are likely to travel to work by train and 36% by bus
Their choice to live in an apartment was influenced by access to public transport (45%), affordability (43%) and safety and security (35%)
The preferred suburbs are Parramatta, Bankstown, Liverpool, Campsie and Chatswood
52% are likely to vote Labor

Cosmo Couples

This group makes up 27% of apartment households:

52% are owners
43% are likely to be aged between 23 and 37
47% are likely to travel to work by train and 36% by bus
Their choice to live in an apartment was influenced by access to public transport (59%), affordability (51%), and safety and security (31%)
The preferred suburbs are Randwick, Parramatta, Dee Why, Sydney, Waterloo and Surry Hills
36% are likely to vote Coalition

Solo Metropolites

This group makes up 34% of apartment households:

63% are renters
37% are likely to be aged between 53 and 71
23% are retired
Their choice to live in an apartment was influenced by access to public transport (47%), low maintenance (42%), and lower prices (35%)
The preferred suburbs are Mosman, Randwick, Surry Hills, Dee Why, Maroubra and Sydney
40% are likely to vote Labor

One-parent families

This group makes up 8% of apartment households:

78% are renting
49% are likely to be aged between 38 and 52
39% work full time and 24% casual
Their choice to live in an apartment was influenced by access to public transport (51%), affordability (46%), proximity to schools and childcare (39%)
The preferred suburbs are Liverpool, Bankstown, Dee Why, Campsie, Hurstville and Chatswood
41% are likely to vote Labor
The research also identified differences between apartment dwellers compared to detached house dwellers