YOU don’t have to go high-rise to live in the big smoke: inner-city living has another side entirely. But CBD life can mean big changes — find out what it takes to get it right.
SHOPS, shows, cafe culture and clunking trams — Melbourne’s inner-city draws many of us in for the action, before we leave again at the day’s end. But what if you stayed instead?
Architect Tamara Dunkley has called the CBD home for 14 years.
After stumbling upon a for sale sign in Niagara Place in 2004, she swapped the suburban fringe for life in a city laneway and bought a converted warehouse apartment.
“I wasn’t even really looking for a property at the time but I absolutely fell in love with it, and the rest is history,” Ms Dunkley said.
And she’s not alone. More than 42,000 people live in the CBD, City of Melbourne figures show. That’s more than double the 20,000 that lived there in 2011. And by 2037, the CBD’s resident population is expected to hit almost 77,000.
Wakelin Property Advisory director Jarrod McCabe said inner-city living had grown in demand, with more downsizers and young professionals wanting a piece of the action — even some families with young children.
“As Melbourne becomes more of a cosmopolitan city in line with cities around the world … demand for that type of living will increase,” he said.
WHY BUY?
Mr McCabe said lifestyle rather than capital growth should be the driver of a CBD home purchase.
“There’s huge choice and there are always the same types of apartments being constructed. From an investment point of view, it then limits the potential for capital growth,” he said.
But Harcourts Melbourne City principal Dionne Wilson said there was more to the city property market than high-rise apartments and student accommodation.
“You’ve got some really beautiful buildings, and a lot of owner-occupiers so there is a lot of pride taken in these buildings,” she said.
These included Art Deco buildings, plus rarer warehouses — the best retaining charm behind their heritage facades.
Ms Wilson said while the modern high-rise market was in decline, the market for unique properties continued to rise.
“Heritage holds value,” she said.
