In Paris it's normal to raise a family in a three-bedroom apartment. Why aren't we building more in Australia?

"Given the unaffordable prices of a standalone house in Randwick, a vibrant suburb in the city's east, they opted to renovate a sunroom. We had to take a creative approach and create a flexible third bedroom, Henderson says. Otherwise we would need to move away from here, and we'd be moving further away from jobs, further away from work and schools. The compromise we came up with was to remain where we were, but create a third space."

"They say other families in the area with two school-age children like them are drawing up similar plans, with some in top-floor apartments hoping to buy attic space from strata owners to expand. In Australia's big cities, large family-size apartments are almost nowhere to be found. Photograph: Bec Lorrimer/The Guardian Nissim says the lack of suitable homes is even weighing on school enrolments as growing families move out of the area in search of third bedrooms."

"But while larger, family-friendly apartments are in fierce demand, they are almost nowhere to be found. Scarce supply Tim Reardon, the chief economist of the Housing Industry Association, says larger units tend to be luxury apartments, designed to attract older families or couples who are downsizing, who often have plenty of cash. Occasionally, somebody will build something that isn't a two-bedroom or one-bedroom apartment, and that's called the penthouse, Reardon says."

Many growing families in Sydney are retrofitting smaller apartments to create flexible third bedrooms because standalone houses in suburbs like Randwick are unaffordable. Couples are converting sunrooms and seeking attic space from strata owners to avoid relocating away from jobs and schools. The shortage of three-bedroom units in Australia's major cities is pushing families to move suburbs, affecting school enrolments and suburban demographics. Developers often deliver larger apartments as luxury penthouses aimed at downsizers rather than family-sized units. Three-bedroom family-friendly apartments are in fierce demand but remain scarce, exposing a mismatch between housing supply and the needs of families.

Read at www.theguardian.com