In her first article for The Property Tribune, Fiona Yang, Executive Partner at Plus Agency, discusses features that should be on your checklist if purchasing a new apartment…
Too many newly built luxury apartments are already obsolete from the very first day their new owners move in.
Worse, if you have bought one of these apartments, you could be worse off by hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result.
Buyer preferences are rapidly evolving, but most developers are still building apartments to the minimum standards set decades ago. In this respect, Sydney and Melbourne are far behind our Asian neighbours like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
Nearly every new luxury apartment building in other Asian Pacific markets already offers features that here seem futuristic.
Plus Agency has identified the 11 essential features that future proof a new apartment building. If your new apartment lacks any of these features, our research suggests that you could find yourself reselling at a 20% discount by 2030 against similar units that do have them.
In 10 years, you won’t use an old-fashioned key to get into a multimillion home. It’s not as safe or convenient as a smart lock.
And people already want VRV air conditioning that doesn’t mix the air —and any air-borne contaminants—from various units in a building – but you can’t install one after your building has been built.
So what are the 11 future-proof features?
They are electric vehicle charging, 5G, externally ducted range hoods, double glazed windows, underfloor heating, digital biometric entry, advanced security cameras, VRV air conditioning, electronic curtains, and smart mirrors, and smart sensors.
If you buy a new luxury unit today without these features, you could find yourself losing money later, when it comes time to resell it. By 2030, we believe a luxury unit without these features will sell for around 20% less than one that has them.
If you pay $3 million for your apartment, you could lose around $600,000 compared to a similar but future-proof unit.
With so much money at stake, you may be surprised to learn that actually including the future-proof features at the time of construction is relatively cheap. They can be built into a new building while it is under construction at a cost of just $20,000 to $30,000 per unit.
Think about this carefully if you’re in the market for a new apartment. If you choose to buy in an obsolete building, you risk losing a significant part of your future equity.
Some of these features may seem like unnecessary extravagances to you today, but they will be the minimum in luxury apartments in just a few years.
Already today, 70% of the luxury buyers we work with in the Sydney CBD, Eastern Suburbs, and North Shore demand more than half of the 11 future proof features on our list.
Two years ago, fewer than a third were asking for them. By 2025, we believe nearly all luxury buyers will want them.
Besides the 11 future-proof features, we have also found that our overseas clients who use their Australian homes only part of the time insist on having home hazard sensors that detect water leaks, smoke and fire, and gas leaks.
Rather than beeping heedlessly in an empty home like a traditional smoke alarm, they can ping you instantly with a message wherever you are in the world. In combination with your smart home security system, hazard sensors give you complete peace of mind.
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