Quoting this data in a recent issue of the influential “Property Junction”, which is a recognized buyers and sellers guide, journalist and property expert Meg Wilson adds that this trend is taking place worldwide – almost all countries are now selling newly built homes that are smaller, but more energy efficient, than those of previous eras.
Wilson, says Bill Rawson, Chairman of the Rawson Property Group, mentions that:
- New sectional title units are now on average 90m2in size as opposed to the 130 m2that was the average a decade ago;
- Less than 12% of homes today provide staff quarters;
- Only 9,1% have a swimming pool on transfer – although many build a swimming pool later;
- Only 51,6% of new homes sold today have garages;
- Lounges, dining and family rooms are increasingly combined and these are often open-plan to the kitchens. The elimination of corridors, says Rawson, has done much to maximize the use of internal space.
One of the big compensations for space ‘lost’ by having smaller units is that today’s smaller homes, if they have a garden, can often link an indoor/outdoor living area to it, which is now ‘almost standard’. In addition, he says, today’s homes are increasingly electronically sophisticatedand internet friendly and the laptop, pc and iPad are now beginning to rival the TV as out of work time consumers.
“Although these and other innovations make smaller homes, especially sectional title homes, more attractive, there are still a large number of people among the younger generation who will insist on opting for large, more sophisticated rented accommodation in a good area rather than knuckling down and getting on the property bandwagon by buying cheaper homes, in a less fashionable area. It goes without saying that we at the Rawson Property Group can mention numerous cases in which this attitude has led to financial disaster later on because as the person gets older and goes onto part-time pay or pension, the continued paying of rent, which tends to increase year-by-year, can be so burdensome as to make their life almost impossible.”
