Expectations Shift as Apartment Buyers Rewrite the Rules

Old assumptions about who buys apartments are breaking down. Across the eastern seaboard, the familiar split between owner-occupier, investor and first-home buyer is giving way to something more fluid. Downsizers want space without upkeep. Families are buying in clusters. Some purchasers plan to rent first and move in later. Others are choosing apartments so they can stay near family, schools and familiar communities. The shift is showing up in different ways across the market—in metro projects pulling mixed demand, in middle-ring schemes drawing intensely local buyers, and in newer deposit models giving purchasers more flexibility over how and when they use a home. Proximity is doing more work Deicorp founder Fouad Deiri says demand is increasingly tied to convenience, connection and familiarity rather than a simple trade-off between house and apartment living. ▲ Deicorp founder Fouad Deiri says connected locations, larger homes and family proximity are driving buyer demand. “Absolutely, we’re seeing a significant shift driven largely by convenience, lifestyle and the desire to stay connected to existing networks,” he tells The Urban Developer . “While buyers are coming from right across Sydney, many are choosing to purchase apartments within their own suburb or in neighbouring suburbs. “Proximity to family, established social networks, schools and familiar amenities is increasingly being cited as a strong motivator. “We’re seeing a very clear difference in both buyer profile and absorption rates for projects located within close proximity to metro and rail stations compared with non-metro locations. “Connected living has become a defining preference and a key decision driver, especially as more people prioritise lifestyle, accessibility and having everything within arm’s reach.” A similar pattern is playing out at Hurstville, but with an even stronger local pull. Delete Horizon Hurstville ( pictured at top and above ), the 179-apartment final stage of the East Quarter Village precinct, is a 19-storey mixed-use tower above a full-line Woolworths that is scheduled for completion later this year. LINK chief executive Michael Klevansky, whose agency is handling sales at Horizon Hurstville, says the project’s enquiry book “reads like a map of Hurstville and the surrounding suburbs: Beverly Hills, Penshurst, Kingsgrove, Kogarah, Bexley, Mortdale”. He says the buyer mix is broader than old assumptions suggest. “Owner-occupiers are the biggest: local downsizers moving out of surrounding houses, and family buyers upgrading from smaller apartments or leaving rentals in the St George area,” he says. “For a project this size on a train line, the ‘elsewhere in Sydney’ group is smaller than people expect. Hurstville pulls its own.” ▲ LINK chief executive Michael Klevansky says proximity, flexibility and larger homes are reshaping apartment demand. The buyer pool is blurring Third.i co-founder Luke Berry says the clearest change is not one buyer group replacing another, but a broader mix arriving with different intentions. “Over the past two to three years, we’ve seen a clear broadening of the buyer profile rather than a simple shift from one group to another,” he says. “At Elevate and The Merewether Residences ( pictured below ), buyers are more diverse in both life stage and intent. “What’s changed most is that traditional segments, first-home buyers, investors, downsizers, are no longer operating in isolation. “Rising house prices, tighter lending conditions and lifestyle priorities have pushed more people toward apartments earlier or differently than they might have in the past.” One of those projects, Elevate at Hume Place , is Third.i and Phoenix Property Investors’ over-station development above the Crows Nest Metro Station. Delete The Woods Bagot-designed scheme comprises 130 one, two and three-bedroom apartments. At Elevate, Berry says, “the lines between buyer types are definitely blurring”. “For example, we have clients that are first-home buyers but purchased like an investor as they want to live in it, then rent it out,” he says. “Then we have a growing number of downsizer clients who are still working and want flexibility and are not ready for a retirement village, so they have chosen our project. “International purchasers are also approaching decisions with a longer-term view around education, migration or future occupation.” Berry says the result is a more strategic form of demand. “What that tells us is that apartment demand is becoming more needs-based and less label-driven,” he says “Buyers are focused on optionality, how a property can serve them not just today, but over the next five to 10 years. “At the same time, investors are behaving more like future owner-occupiers, wanting higher levels of finishes, when traditionally they wanted the cheapest range possible. All of these elements are influencing how they assess quality, design and location.” ▲ Third.i co-founder Luke Berry says apartment demand is becoming more flexible, strategic and less tied to old buyer labels. Deiri says the shift is broadening the buyer pool rather than replacing its core. “Over the past couple of years we have seen a clear shift in the buyer mix across our projects,” he says. “Investor activity has strengthened considerably, driven by extremely low vacancy rates, and improving rental yields. “At the same time, owner-occupiers remain an anchor segment, with steady growth continuing. “Upsizers and young families are increasingly active, particularly in well-connected urban infill locations where the convenience of on-site amenities, proximity to transport and low-maintenance apartment living suits their lifestyle needs.” Family networks shaping sales One of the more telling shifts sits in linked purchases. Berry says blended family behaviour is becoming a clear feature of apartment sales. “Using Elevate ( pictured below ) as an example, we had a whole family buy into the project so that they could be close as their parents move towards retirement, so we have the Elderly parents in one apartment and then a brother and sister purchased an apartment each to have a home close to them,” he says. “We’re also seeing parents purchasing for children with a view to long-term ownership, professionals buying now with the intention to move in later, and investors deliberately targeting properties they’d be comfortable living in themselves.” Delete Klevansky says Horizon Hurstville is seeing much the same thing. “We’re regularly seeing parent-and-adult-child pairings, mums buying with sons, dads with daughters, each taking their own apartment in the building rather than sharing one. Sibling groups doing the same thing are close behind,” he says. “Their GP is on Forest Road, their parents are ten minutes away, their kids are at local schools, their food and social life is here. For many of them, the alternative to buying in Hurstville isn’t buying elsewhere. It’s not buying at all.” Deiri says family-based buying is becoming more visible across Deicorp’s projects too. “We are seeing families choosing to live near one another, taking advantage of shared amenities and proximity to transport.” Larger homes, smarter release strategies As buyer motives change, apartment demand is shifting with them. At Horizon Hurstville, Klevansky says, buyer preferences point clearly to larger formats. “Where buyers specify a preference, about 52 per cent enquire on two-bedrooms, 25 per cent on three-bedrooms, and 23 per cent on one-bedrooms,” he says. “The more telling number is three-bedrooms outpacing one-bedrooms in enquiry volume, which is unusual for a metro apartment project on a train line, and almost entirely a downsizer and family story.” ▲ A rendering of the Horizon Hurstville courtyard—shared space and walkable amenity are part of the appeal to local buyers, downsizers and linked families. He says many downsizers are coming out of three and four-bedroom houses and still want room for guests or grandchildren. “The real decision isn’t apartment versus house in the abstract,” he says. “It’s keep a 600sq m block and a garden they no longer use, or stay in the same community with a lift, secure parking, and a five minute walk to the station. “Framed that way, a well-designed three bedroom wins more often than it used to.” Deiri says larger homes are performing strongly across Deicorp projects as well. “Across our projects, demand for these larger layouts have been exceptionally strong,” he says. “In fact, the introduction of townhouse-style apartments with direct park access, such as those in our Hills Showground development , has proven extremely popular.” Berry says downsizers have become some of the clearest buyers in the market. “Downsizers today are highly discerning and very clear about what they want,” he says. “They’re not looking to compromise; they’re looking to upgrade their lifestyle. “Key priorities are generous internal space, ample storage, high-quality finishes, and a genuine sense of privacy. “Where developers often misread this cohort is by underestimating their expectations. Smaller floorplates, lack of storage, or overly dense designs don’t resonate.” The Merewether Residences in Newcastle, where Third.i is targeting over-55s buyers, broke ground in December and is due for completion in mid-2027. Through Third.i’s NestDeposit platform, buyers can enter with a lower and more flexible deposit structure, reducing the upfront barrier to entry. “Our NestDeposit platform has completely changed the game for property purchasers and absolutely widened the buyer pool,” he says. “We’ve seen the strongest response from first-home buyers and younger professionals, but it’s not limited to that group. “Rentvestors and even some downsizers have decided to use NestDeposit because they provide flexibility and allow them to retain liquidity. ” Klevansky puts the broader shift plainly. “The old idea that an apartment is a compromise for people who can’t afford a house no longer describes who’s signing contracts.”

Expectations Shift as Apartment Buyers Rewrite the Rules

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