What's hot and what's not for property in 2017

Goodbye study. You can stay, open plan. And bathrooms are more desirable than ever.

With land value still rising across Melbourne’s inner and middle-ring suburbs this year, house sizes will counter with larger, more feature-packed living spaces, according to experts.

And apartment living is coming into its own.

“We are seeing strong activity in the bayside suburbs for the medium-density apartments,” Domain Group chief economist Andrew Wilson says. “This type of property, larger lifestyle apartments are hugely popular as there is an undersupply of that kind of property and also higher rises in (inner-city) suburbs like Collingwood are getting strong attention.”

Mobilising Baby Boomers are fuelling demand for generously proportioned infill developments, Wolveridge Architects director Jeremy Wolveridge says. “Well-appointed two or three-bedroom townhouse residences are what they want so while they may lose a bedroom and big block they are still often left with two car parks and a courtyard, which is very important as they still want to have some garden,” Wolveridge says. “We see a move towards larger size apartments with developers realising the market wants more well-appointed quality residences, well-thought-out … less cookie-cutter [products].”

Buyers will continue to “see the value in sustainability”, encouraging greater input from landscape architects to ensure outdoor-indoor areas integrate to boost year-round liveability. Thermal features such as ceiling insulation and double glazing are having uptake, as are chemical-free pools, the architect says.

Senior associate at Hayball, Bianca Hung tips Melburnians will be more accepting of apartment and townhouse living this year. “There has been a big shift in recent years towards designing for owner-occupiers, and this will continue, and the result is more three-bedroom apartments, which blur the lines between house and apartment,” Hung says.

“Similarly, we’ll see emphasis on townhouse developments in fringe suburbs in response to affordability concerns among young families, who are seeking different accommodation options in up-and-coming suburbs so they can balance their budget with desire for space.”

Open plan will continue to dominate interior design of apartments and houses, she says.

And going hand-in-hand with the acceptance of apartment living, smart storage and joinery will shine, the interior design expert forecasts.

“It has been bubbling away in the background … but this year we’ll really see this enter the mainstream as space becomes a precious commodity and clever storage solutions and spaces which have multiple purposes will be front and centre,” Hung says.

“Some examples include island benches which double as dining tables, fold-down beds and entry niches where there are spaces carved out for studying.”

Agent Tim Heavyside says dedicated rooms for studying will become 2017’s “media rooms”. In other words, redundant.

The mass market still believes “bigger is better” in housing, thus bigger kitchens and “more bathrooms than what the Aussie family really need” are on trend. Open plans, stone bench tops, built-in coffee machines and pendant LED lighting will be hot in kitchens this year, Heavyside says.

“The formal study is fast becoming a thing of the past with this room being swallowed up by extra living area,” the Fletchers director says.

“The solution for a study room is (today) called an Apple iPhone and/or Apple iPad.”

Open-plan living and low-maintenance gardens will dominate buyers’ checklists because “people are time poor and want to move in to something ready to go,” Toby Parker, director of Hocking Stuart Balwyn says.

“When it comes to design, buyers want everything lighter and brighter, everyone’s loving the lighter timbers such as American oak, as opposed to the stained, darker woods, and we’re seeing it incorporated into kitchen fitouts and furniture,” Parker says.

“Some vendors are even opting to pull up their carpet and replace it with beautiful floorboards before they sell.”

Ryan Currie, owner of the Flemington office of Nelson Alexander sees well-located apartments in older blocks of up to 10 apartments “with some outdoor space balcony or courtyards” proving most popular with many buyers.

Open plan is still “a dominant request” with one caveat: “We do find buyers with older children tend to want a separate living area or the classic teenagers’ retreat.”

“The request I often see is good storage throughout a home, ie, ceiling ladders/attic storage and where possible separate laundries.”

Gary Peer and Associates director Gary Peer says many “cottage style, smaller homes that previously struggled to find buyers have been red hot”.

The 2016 influx of new city apartment stock has definitely given some buyers greater appreciation for the larger, solid established properties of the late ’60s and ’70s, Peer says. Art deco apartments will become even rarer and more prized this year.

What’s hot

• Family-size period properties with three-plus full-size bedrooms.
• Houses within 10 kilometres of the CBD will remain timelessly popular, buyers’ advocate Cate Bakos says.
• Flexible floor plans and ground-floor bedrooms. “Flexibility is a serious issue for older buyers this year who may need to accommodate older children or elderly parents,” Bakos says. “Likewise, ground-floor bedroom adaptability is sought by older buyers taking on double-storey townhouses.”
• Lock-and-leave properties.
• Low-maintenance homes will shine with time-poor owners across all styles of properties and price brackets, Tony Rindfleisch of The Advocates tips.
• Clever two-bedroom apartments. Look for a main bedroom and en suite, plus a second bedroom with retractable walls or large sliding doors. “It can be incorporated into the adjoining living space when no one is using it as a bedroom, which is most of the time,” Rindfleisch says.
• Outdoor kitchens. “Homes increasingly have outdoor kitchens with range hoods and fridges (and) furniture starting to rival interior furniture in terms of style and comfort.”

Cover property

327 Albion Street, Brunswick
$1$1.1 million

This three-bedroom period house on a 228-square-metre corner block is a fine example of what’s appealing to the buying market mainstream. Recently renovated for year-round comfort via ducted heating and split-system airconditioning, the original Edwardian floor plan has also evolved to offer open-plan living-dining with American oak timber floors flowing to a north-facing courtyard and established garden. The kitchen is stone topped with Smeg/Ilve appliances and a breakfast bar. An en suite, main bathroom and powder room are offered plus a garage with roller door to Patterson Street, which could become a home office, further bolstering appeal with couples and families needing space options. Anstey Station is 500 metres away, as are Sydney Road’s myriad retail and dining options. “The owner is a teacher and has used the car parking as a studio for tutoring but you really could do many things with this house,” the agent says. “It is ticking all the boxes in the eyes of the mainstream market … as there are just not many houses for sale (in Brunswick), stock is tight.”

Auction 1.30pm, February 18|Nelson Alexander, Nuno Raimundo 0415 232 059