Layout vs Size

Apartment Specialists Podcast No: 171

Summary:

Have you viewed an apartment where due to the size advertised you expect to see a large space but the actual layout seems smaller? Have you then been to an apartment where the size advertised is smaller but the actual layout seems bigger? Andrew explains in this podcast why the size of an apartment doesn't matter, but the layout does. Get all his insights by watching the video.

Size doesn’t matter - Layout does

There are so many people who base value on square meters.

This is an acceptable way to value an apartment yet it is not just about the size.  It’s about how that size or space is used.

For example, I go into apartments that are 60m2 that feel 50m2; or 40m2 that fell much bigger.

How? Layout and design.  An apartment with a good layout is worth more every time.

Look at this apartment below. It’s 55m2 but you have over 7m2 wasted in an unusable corridor.  It may be 55m2, but it feels like it’s 40m2.

Then you look at this one and you can see that it is designed for the user. It opens up into the apartment. It is only a few square meters bigger but there is simply no comparison.

Why is this?

When a developer builds apartments, for most it’s about how many apartments he/she can get on a piece of land to maximise profit. And when this happens, the layout suffers.

So when you are looking at an apartment and you find out the size, it may feel a few meters too small. Don’t dismiss it, as it’s not the size that matters. It is how the size is used.

Layout is king.

If you have any questions about finding the best apartment, flick me an email at [email protected] or call +6421 424 892 and I’ll be happy to help you with your queries.

TRANSCRIPTION:

Good day, Andrew Murray here from the Apartment Specialists talking about size doesn't matter, but layout does.

Valuing an apartment by the size, for example, by the square metres, is a very effective method of valuing an apartment. Most professional valuers follow the format as one's looking at previous sales.

It always comes down to how many metres squared the apartment is. That's good to go to do on paper, but actually what is the most important thing is how that size is used.

So you can see with the example in front of me. We've got a 55 square meter apartment here; but as you enter the apartment, you can see it's not really designed for the user. You've got a whole stretch here of corridor, which has got to be at least seven square metres and it might as well not even be here.

So that 55 metres squared has actually only got 48 metres squared of useable space. This is why, I'll often come into an apartment, let's say, 40 square metres and it feels like 50. I'll come into an apartment that's 60 metres squared and it feels like it's 50. It is about the layout and you'll know after going into apartments that some apartments just seem bigger than others, and that's what is most important.

An apartment with a good layout is worth more than a larger apartment with a bad layout. Again, look at this apartment, and just look how the square meterage is used. It's just not very effective. If you compare it to this one with same size, but there's no wasted space, you'll see it's been designed so as you come in here through the main entrance.

You're coming straight into a sort of open plan and so every square meterage is used. You can see here, you can quite easily have a dining area, a lounge area, bedrooms, you got two bathrooms. It's actually designed for the user. When you sort of, I suppose, you hear that size, or you're told of a size of an apartment.

It may be a few square metres below what you'd like it to be, remember that it's not always about the size. It's about that layout that's so crucial. A lot of people sort of ask me, "Well, why do apartments have bad layouts?" And it comes down to how apartments are built, which is about the developer.

A lot of developers, but not all, are about putting as many apartments as they can on that piece of land, and to do that, often the design and the layout suffers. For example, you see a lot of apartments, especially in the lower demographic apartments, that are rectangles, and that's purely so that they can fit as many as they can on that piece of land. But the rectangle means you've a lot of corridor and a lot of wasted space. So remember when looking layout is king.

I hope this helped. Cheers.

If you have any questions, flick me an email at [email protected] or call +6421 424 892 and I’ll be happy to help you with your queries.