Small Apartments

In today's AFR (Australian Financial Review), there is an article titled "Size rules could hurt apartment market".  The article states:

• Property investors are being warned that banks may not finance "popular micro apartments" currently being built.
• Cookie-cutter apartments that are less than 50sqm in size are not cutting it with lenders.
• Apartments between 40 and 50 sqm are being marketed as accommodation suitable for foreign students.
• There is a disagreement between developers and surveyors about how to determine an apartment size (measured from the outside wall or the inside wall).  Developers usually measure from the outside wall.

Keep in mind that a typical hotel room (bed and bathroom, no kitchen) is about 33 sqm.  A bedroom is about 12 sqm.  Older apartments are often in better locations and are larger than some of the newer apartments being marketed in Brisbane.  Over time, a typical two bedroom apartment in Brisbane has decreased in size from 132 sqm, to 116 sqm, to 110 sqm, to 95 sqm, to 85 sqm and now 75 sqm.