Building of more small housing units may solve the problem with accommodation shortage in cosmopolitan cities across the world, according to Savills, an international real estate service provider.
In a recent report, the company supports the shoebox apartment concept, saying that small units can be very effective in big cities’ housing market. The realtor claims that tiny living spaces are very much in demand and in use in city centers, where young working people are searching for an affordable accommodation.
Some say that shoebox units are not suitable for young professionals and other blue-colar employees who prefer to occupy the main districts of business hubs. Savills suggests that the reason for that lies in history. About three months ago, people from New York City were asked to try to forget the years of housing depression and offer fresh ideas for small living designs. The goal of this initiative was to familiarize the skeptical society with the small unit concept.
- Further reading: Decorating Ideas for Small Living Spaces
However, New York inhabitants are not the only ones who don’t like the new idea for small living accommodations. A large number of the cities in the world have a bad reputation in that regard, because of their badly designed shoebox dwellings. For example, such is the case in Hong Kong where the living units remind of cages. However, some Asian cities have successfully redesigned these accommodations making them more suitable for living. Nevertheless, older cities in the world still seem cautious when it comes to modernizations.
In Dubai, the trend towards small living units is about to emerge. Few real estate developers are already offering small apartment units in the main business district of DIFC.
The main problem which young professionals face in the big city is affordability. Even though small units are offered for a high price per square foot, the overall price of such accommodations is lower than the average. Young professional singles and couples spend little time at home. Therefore, they are more interested in cheap accommodations that is nearby to their office, than in big living units in the outskirts of the city.
Modern World Accepts Designer Shoebox Units
Some cities in Asia, like Singapore and Hong Kong, are not very demanding when it comes to small living units. In Hong Kong, for instance, the size of the accommodation is not as important as its location and quality. As a result, in such cities shoebox apartments have turned into luxury homes. In addition, in most of the cases they are situated in major central areas on Hong Kong Island where their prices can reach $2,580 per square foot. The popularity of these apartments also brings lots of profits to investors. They are estimated to amount to 3% which is a little over the average level on the market. That is why real estate developers are currently joining the market to deliver additional stock which is supported by the policy of HK SAR. Following this policy, constructions which are older than 50 years can be redeveloped.
The term “shoebox” originally came from Singapore. There the prices of the small accommodations have also attracted developers and real estate investors. But the policy of the government understands that shoebox homes offer limited opportunities. As a result, only small apartments in the center of the city can be redeveloped.
When it comes to layout and design, things are not what they used to be. That is due to the many tech developments during the past years which have changed the space requirements. Because of the busy road systems in the cities, people now spend less time in their homes. That is why, today architects and designers are showing more creativity in this sector. They successfully adjust the apartments to the new home appliances and modern ways of life. This model is already working well in the Far East.
Old World Still Can’t Make a Choice
Unlike the new cities, the old world is not that open to changes. In Sydney, for example, lenders are afraid to lend against accommodations which are smaller than 500 square feet. They are forbidding self-ownership of units that are too small for those who are willing to live in them. London had hard times trying to change the negative these attitudes. To make matters worse, not long ago, the Royal Institute of British Architecture called speculative developer output “shameful shoeboxes”. In Dubai, people prefer to drive more than to squiz in smaller units.
London’s authority planners are greatly opposing the small homes. In addition, accommodations of scale lure premium values in central part of the city. In other words, developers are very interested in them. Pocket Living is an exception, despite the fact that their housing units are bigger than those in Asia. Their goal is to offer cheap middle-sized accommodations. A development in Westminster proved different from the standard practice. However, every sale and resale needs to be approved by the council and it needs to be to suitable purchasers, at a price which is under 80% of the market value.
That is why, similar to Sydney and New York City, London hasn’t still started to invest in top quality small living spaces in the central parts of the city which try to attract renters, buyers and investors.
Modern cities have used different approaches towards high quality small accommodations. What they found was young professionals are interested them, because they want to live and work in the city’s hot spots. Older cities need to change the way they think and see the advantages of shoebox appartment units.
Cosmopolitan cities administrations should be more open to the shoebox apartment concept. Despite their sizes, small units can suit the needs of many people.
