Real estate writer for CoreLogic, Cameron Kusher and his wife recently sold their five-bedroom house in the suburbs and moved, with their dog, to a three-bedroom ground floor apartment in the inner-city.

Nothing unusual there, except for the fact that Cameron and his wife are not empty-nesters or retirees; to the contrary they plan to have kids one day.

So why did this couple and their dog opt for apartment living at this stage of their lives?

Below are the key points Cameron wrote in his blog about why they made the move …

• When two people and a dog live in a five-bedroom house, it’s a lot of work and there are also a lot of costs associated with maintaining a house of that size.
• They found themselves closing off unused rooms in the house.
• Neither Cameron nor his wife particularly enjoy gardening, so they found maintaining a garden tiresome.
• Cameron travels interstate for work quite often, meaning most of the housework needs to be done on the weekend “when quite honestly, I would rather be doing almost anything else”.

The benefits of downsizing & inner city living according to Cameron:

• Close to all amenities and they can walk everywhere.
• They have an array of restaurants, clubs, bars and cafes on their doorstep.
• They are close to work, meaning they are home much earlier and have more time to enjoy leisure time.

So what about when they decide to start a family?

Cameron writes, “Think of how many families live in the larger European and American cities. You see very few houses anywhere near the city centre.  We chose a unit of a good size, in a building which is predominately lived in by owner occupiers with onsite amenities and directly adjacent to parks and the river and nearby to schools.”

In conclusion, there is no reason why apartment living should not be seen as a viable alternative to detached houses, especially given that it generally comes at a much more affordable price point. This is particularly true for apartment complexes that have been designed with liveability in mind – in terms of product type, product size, local amenities and location.