What buyers really want from the ground floor

Many people who choose an apartment today want what a precinct offers, including a short walk to dinner, a cafe that recognises their order and a street which stays busy long after the office has closed.

That demand has become one of the main reasons mixed-use development sits at the centre of how Perth’s new neighbourhoods are planned and it goes some way to explaining why so many buyers are looking beyond the traditional house on a quarter-acre block.

According to CommBank research, apartments and units accounted for 44 per cent of first home purchases in 2025-26 – up from 32 per cent five years earlier – while houses fell to 55 per cent of first-time buys.

This sales data is the latest evidence that the apartment has moved from a niche option to a mainstream first home and that many buyers are choosing the energy of a precinct because it suits the way they want to live.

The energy of a precinct matters most at street level, where activation gives a neighbourhood its character and helps residents feel part of a place.

Living alongside this energy works best when expectations are shared from the outset.

Late trading hours, music, deliveries and the sound of a busy footpath form part of the everyday picture, and they are a large part of the appeal of inner-city living.

Residents who understand how a precinct runs are better placed to enjoy it, and the people who design, operate and manage these places are better served when that understanding is built in early.

The goal is not to correct a problem but to help people settle into the neighbourhood they have chosen.

Designers can plan the floors above with acoustic separation in mind while venue operators can keep neighbours informed about trading hours and special events.

Strata companies and councils can also make clear how feedback is raised and resolved.

The clearest outcomes often come when these considerations shape the design from the beginning, rather than after the first complaint has already arrived.

Precincts succeed when they are built around the people who will live in them, and that starts with a clear picture of what the place offers and what it asks of its residents.

When this picture is shared early on, the cafe downstairs becomes exactly what people moved there to enjoy.