Apartment savvy

Next week Buying an apartment for you to live in

Inner-CITY apartment living is a sign that the city is coming of age. The trickle of people moving back into the CBD from the suburbs began in the late 1980s, and has surged in the past five years. Now some 10,000 apartments in over 135 complexes show that the apartment market in the city is maturing.

More growth is yet to come in 2005. Bayleys researchers say construction is underway for another 3900 apartments in 35 projects completing this year, with another 1600 units in 2006. Eight more projects, with 1200 units, are in the planning stages for the CBD. Add city-fringe developments in Kingsland, Ponsonby and further afield in Manukau, Waitakere and North Shore cities, and it is clear Aucklanders have embraced city living.

Martin Dunn, of City Sales, was a pioneer in the market in 1991. Today, apartment sales are as much about investment opportunities as they are about lifestyle owner-occupiers, he says.

Howard Morley, president of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand and himself in the city market, says buyers want to see their apartment investment maintain or increase in value and be sure of steady tenants. Around 70 per cent of apartment sales are to investors looking for well-managed projects.

To get the best returns, consider the following when buying:

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