A growing trend in apartment styles in Europe and Asia could prove part of the solution to improving housing affordability at all levels in Australia, an industry expert has claimed.
It involves building much smaller apartments into large developments, with communal spaces for working or relaxing, and it’s proving popular with everyone.
“There is an increasing amount of investor interest and development in what is called ‘co-living’ developments,” said award-winning architect James Alexander-Hatziplis, co-founder and CEO of Place Studio which has designed such structures in Kirrawee, Glebe and Camperdown.
“Each apartment, something between a studio and one-bedroom apartment in terms of design, typically features a private bedroom, premium bathroom and small kitchen with quality fixtures while providing shared common areas such as large communal living spaces, workspaces and recreational facilities.” 
For investors, it has the added advantage of better space usage, which can increase the number of apartments that can be built on a given piece of land.  
Such developments can foster a sense of community among residents, make housing cheaper, and allow people to live closer to city centres, work and recreation facilities. They also allow people to adopt a sustainable, minimalist lifestyle. 
  
“Co-living development sites that we have taken to the market in recent months have been snapped up by buyers very quickly, demonstrating the strong buyer demand in this space,” said Alexander-Hatziplis.
“It is a good first step onto the property ladder.”