Property investment advice - when is small too small?

photo credit: David Farrell

A “filing cabinet” is how Edward Norton’s character describes his apartment block home in the US film Fight Club. This is an apt and almost polite description for the humble late 20th/early 21stcentury flat complex.

But wait! Is it a flat, or is it an apartment? Estate agents would have you believe that every form of high-rise living is an ‘apartment’ regardless of when it was built. The term ‘flat’ has been forever ripped from the agents’ dictionary. Likewise the phrase ‘bedsit’, which has been morphed into a ’studio apartment’ without so much as a builder’s hammer. Wow!

Compact living

The point is, when is a cramped dump a cramped dump, and when is it actually a decent development? In the UK the debate is bubbling nicely. Figures from the European Urban Knowledge Network show that in 2001 new homes completed in England had on average only 82.7 square metres of useful floor area per dwelling, per person. If you’re struggling to visualise, that’s tiny. This figure, when recorded, was better than only Italy, which had an equally squalid average of 81.5. The rest of Europe on the whole, is building bigger new homes than England.

UK flats ‘30 per cent smaller’

The BBC reports an exhibition in Venice has demonstrated just as much, showing a social housing flat scheme in Britain has 30 per cent smaller units compared to similar flats built in Switzerland by the same firm. If you’re not convinced, have a look at the planning applications in a regional UK newspaper, sandwiched somewhere between deaths and unwanted Rover Metros. Then go and visit the actual site and guess how many flats/houses are planned for the spot. The reality is likely to be higher than you imagine.

The lesson in all this? Space in the UK is at a premium, that’s true, but don’t invest in the evil 80s monolith or decrepit slum of tomorrow. Small isn’t always beautiful.

[tags]real estate,real estate investing,property,property investment[/tags]