More buyers are opting for affordable properties and in many capital cities that means buying a strata unit. Analysis by InfoTrack shows strata property purchases increased from 31.43% in the first quarter of 2024 to 33.01% in Q3 in New South Wales. In Queensland strata purchases increased from 26.47% in the second quarter of 2024 to 27.43% in the third quarter.

InfoTrack head of property, Lee Bailie, says the changes are evidence of the wider issue with housing affordability across the country. “While the increase in unit sales may seem incremental, it shows home buyers are increasingly opting for more affordable housing solutions given current economic conditions,” he says. “These developments, of which we’ve seen a boom along Sydney’s metro lines, have led to the decrease in single dwelling house purchases and an increase in apartment-style living.”

Bailie says there has been an increase in the number of sales of medium—and high-density units bought off the plan throughout the year as house transaction numbers are dropping, particularly among first-home buyers. “House transactions have had an almost 5% drop among this buying cohort this year, decreasing from 47.14% in Q1 to 43.1% in Q2, now only maintaining 42.91% share in Q3.”