Do You Want Your Cake and Eat It Too?
I recently spoke with a buyer who has been house hunting for nearly a year. In most cases, buyers face one of two challenges:
Their budget doesn’t align with the type of property they’re looking for, so they find homes they love but can’t afford.
Their requirements are too specific, and they’re searching for a property that simply doesn’t exist.
In this case, it was the latter.
They wanted a spacious three-bedroom apartment with a large balcony, in a boutique block of fewer than six apartments, within a five-minute walk to Redfern Station, and not near social housing. Regardless of the budget, my response was the same: "What you’re looking for doesn’t exist."
To find a home, they needed to either:
Expand their search area
Compromise on features, such as the balcony
Consider a different type of property, such as a warehouse conversion
Accept a larger apartment complex
Changing Market Conditions
This week, the State Government announced changes to housing policies, allowing for more dual-occupancies, terraces, townhouses, and mid-rise residential buildings within 800 meters of transport hubs and town centres.
While this will help increase supply, it will also challenge some buyers. Many people want to be within a 10-minute walk of the action but also desire a quiet, leafy street—and they don’t want to live next to apartments. In reality, many buyers find homes that tick all their boxes, only to walk away because they don’t like what’s next door.
The new policy allows for unit blocks up to six storeys, which will undoubtedly impact how buyers and homeowners feel. However, it’s also part of the reality of living in Sydney and staying close to key locations.
This map shows the impacted areas marked in orange
