Owning a family home with the big quarter-acre block has always been considered the great Australian dream. However, with an increasing number ofpeople now opting to rent, could it be that Aussies are starting to forge a new dream? - Themortgage-freekind that focuses on lifestyle, rather than putting every spare hard-earned dollar into a home loan.

Weekend Today recently interviewed social researcher Mark McCrindle on how this very notion of the great old Australian dream is being redefined thanks to a major shift in housing trends, such as downsizing and a desire to live right in the heart of the CBD amongst the urban sprawl of trendy cafés and the hottest restaurants.

In keeping with the recent television report, let us take a look at three of the most major new trends that are swiftly being adopted right across Australia - 

1. The new vertical community 

According to McCrindle about three in four Australians live in a detached home - so that has traditionally been the Aussie dream. Then you have about 14 per cent who live in apartments and 10 per cent in townhouses. 

However, he says that we are starting to see a strong shift in these numbers; with a quarter of Australians now living in medium to high density housing. 

“At the moment if you look at new housing approvals, it's one in three, so it has gone up. So we are starting to get more densified; with an increase in vertical communities compared to the more traditional horizontal ones, and that’s where we are headed in the future,” says McCrindle. 

2. Downsizing is the next big thing

In the Today report, McCrindle also talks about this idea that people want to downsize. He says that this next generation starting homes don’t need a big garage to store their stuff. They don’t need two cars. They are happy to ride share and get by on one car and be closer to public transport.” 

He refers to this as the ‘walkable community’.

“Partly because of the cost of a big four-bedroom home in the suburbs, people are wanting to downsize to something a little smaller and that’s why we are starting to see the growth of units and apartments right across Australia.”

3. Inner suburban lifestyle

The great Aussie dream used to be about the family home, the picket fence and the quarter-acre block but things have changed. McCrindle says Aussies are choosing a cosmopolitan lifestyle instead of the alternative of living further out in the suburbs. Nowadays families want the balcony with a view, the local café that is just a stone’s throw away and the convenience of public transport. 

In terms of real estate, there are three big winners from these growing trends – CBDs, apartments and investors!With an increase in the so-called ‘vertical community’ and a positive push for downsizing – surely the obvious choice for this new generation of buyers are CBD apartments? 

Next week we will delve into topic this a little deeper and focus on the ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘why’ of these latest property trends which seem to be turning the real estate market on its head and changing the way we view the good old Australian dream.

If you want access to one of the best urban-city lifestyle that Australia has to offer, you simply cannot go past purchasing property within the Brisbane CBD. For experts in the local Brisbane market, contact the professional team at HSBP on 0419 782 133.

For more information on Mark McCrindle or to visit his website, go to  http://mccrindle.com.au.