Community Condensed

New housing is starting to look a little different these days.

Continued escalations in the Melbourne property market have created housing affordability pressures for first homebuyers, key workers and downsizers, even on Melbourne’s urban fringe.

Once homebuyers headed to suburbs like Point Cook and Cranbourne seeking a big house on a large block.

Now budgets and changing lifestyles have brought the benefits of more compact homes into focus.

This demand and the resulting competition in the market place has led developers to deliver townhouses featuring interesting designs, smart floorplans, clever technology and environmentally sustainable outcomes.

A medium density development in Melbourne’s mortgage belt can now resemble those seen in high-priced infill sites in the city’s inner suburbs.

These architecturally appealing homes add value to the entire estate by framing main boulevards, parks and neighbourhood activity centres.

Buyers are also becoming more sophisticated in their expectations of the community that will surround their new home.

With people living closer together and consequently more reliant on communal spaces,on-site amenities have never been more important to purchasers buying into the vision of a new estate.

Resident-only recreational facilities with lap pools, gyms, kids water play areas, restaurants, cafes and childcare centres are becoming the norm in new estates.

In consultation with local councils, multi-million dollar parks with expansive playgrounds, communal barbecue facilities, basketball half-courts and amphitheatres feature heavily in the landscape design being implemented by developers.

This movement toward design-led decision making not only contributes to the look and feel of the streetscape, but also provides the bones of a great place to live.