Interior design attributes of inner city apartments in Wellington

Abstract

One of the most interesting and significant housing trends to emerge in recent years has been the rapid growth in the construction of inner city apartments in the major cities of New Zealand. In 1997, a report from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research on apartment construction in New Zealand for the year ending June was dominated by the steep rise of apartment numbers in Wellington. The Evening Post, Tuesday, Nov 18, 1997, p12 It revealed that Wellington had the most dramatic apartment development of the major cities of New Zealand. According to recent study by Ernst & Young's real estate group, the number of apartments in Wellington's CBD increased from 106 in 1993, to 745 in 1998. Another 551 apartments are currently under construction, all timed for completion during this year. The Evening Post, Tuesday, July 28,1998, p14 Why have the inner city apartments apparently become so popular in a country where detached housing and suburb living has been the preferred choice for the majority? Generally the growth of a new housing form is indicative of demographic and socio-economic change.