Sizing up the future home Residents are embracing medium and high-density living like never before. SYDNEY has been growing out for decades. Suburbs such as Strathfield and Burwood were once considered to be in the western suburbs but are now the inner west and former coastal holiday spots such as Avalon have become the outer ring of our expanding city. But Sydney is also growing up, with the Census 2011 data showing residents are embracing medium and high-density living like never before. Mark McCrindle of McCrindle Research says throughout the last century houses got bigger but now properties are shrinking and developers are starting to take note. I think the growth in medium and high density is quite remarkable. Nationally you've got 73 per cent living in a detached house," he says. In Sydney it's a lot lower than that; about 59 per cent in a stand-alone home and more than 40 per cent in a medium or high-density situation. Wenshuo and Xiaowei Li recently bought a three-bedroom unit in the master-planned community Breakfast Point. Wenshuo says even though they have already begun their family with the birth of their eight-month-old son Wenson, they wanted a unit instead of a house. "There are swimming pools, good security and there are nice gardens that my wife and I don't have to take care of," he says. I have a friend who bought a big house recently for his family and he spends so much time mowing lawns and taking care of the house. I don't want to do that all weekend. . He says the strata fees will come to about $2500 a quarter, but he is happy to pay it. "I think it is worth paying for that to have a home in such a nice area that is very well maintained and safe," he says. McCrindle says: "The big news is, and it's going to be a bit hard to know exactly when, but we're approaching a point when for the first time in the history of an Australian city, there will be more people living in medium to high-density housing than stand-alone homes." Sydney medium and high-density housing is growing at almost seven times the growth of stand-alone housing, he adds. As housing affordability gets tighter in Sydney, McCrindle says there will most likely be a return to siblings sharing bedrooms and several generations all living under the one roof. "We're seeing a new efficiency or a new austerity where people are thinking a lot more about costs such as rising energy bills," he says. And it's the return to the multi-generational household where you've got the parents, their adult children living at home, sometimes with their own little ones. McCrindle says as a result there is a question mark hanging over already established large properties. What's going to happen to the McMansion? Are they going to be in demand, or are they going to drop in value?" he says. I think that problem is already being sorted out because those McMansions are becoming multi-generational. Some downstairs rooms are being turned into granny flats, kitchenettes are being added and whole bedrooms are being turned into study rooms or home offices. For the future, it will be about building housing stock that is flexible and will adapt to our needs. Developers have responded to the demand for smaller dwellings and are beginning to offer smaller blocks with their house-and-land packages. Matthew Mears, general manager of NSW residential development for Stockland says lot sizes are down to 451sq m from 550sq m in 2008. "Late last year we offered a collection of 20 lots sized at 238sq m at Glenmore Ridge in western Sydney (near Penrith), priced from $160,000 for the land," Mears says. The Monarch Investments Group recently released smaller house-and-land packages in Ingleburn Gardens Estate near Glenfield. "There is a strong appetite in the market place for smaller homes," says Peter Icklow, CEO of Monarch and developer of Ingleburn Gardens. ALAINA Seymour and her partner Ryan Radzieta recently bought a 280sq m block of land at Stockland's Glenmore Ridge. "There were a few factors (for buying a small block), mainly affordability and the fact that it would be easier to maintain a smaller home," Seymour says, adding that the couple have plans to build a three-bedroom, two bathroom and one car space house on the lot. There's only the two of us now, but it's also going to be a good size for small children once we decide to start a family. The lack of backyard isn't an issue for us as we are surrounded by great parks and walking trails," she says. The pair opted for a house because they wanted freedom from strata rules and costs. Follow us on Twitter @DT_openhouse