How much Strata Service can you Handle ?

There’s a common disconnect between what people in strata apartments want and what they will pay.

Which is surprising since strata is all about the most valuable asset most people own and the owners involved have at least enough capital and income to own the apartment and the occupiers can afford the rent.

And worse still, this approach and these beliefs have come to characterise much of strata title as ‘value conscious’ and ‘frugal’ .. if not downright cheap. 

But, that’s not the situation throughout the strata sector.  There are strata schemes, owners and occupiers who will pay more for better services and outcomes and who are seeking and demand more than they can currently source.

At the extreme end of the strata market the properties featured in this recent Wall Street Journal article called "Living in the Lap of Luxury" define a new standard in strata apartments and services.  And, (I think) they reveal more about how owners and occupiers really want to interact with their apartment homes.

To quote the article “Imagine if your apartment made you feel like a VIP. Walk in and your freshly laundered clothes are neatly stacked in your drawers. Your fridge is stocked with your favourite delicacies and a bubble bath is waiting for you—at precisely the perfect temperature.”

These new ultra-luxury zero-maintenance developments are in locations like

Milan, Italy; Mont-Pèlerin, Lake Geneva, Switzerland; Hyde Park, London, UK; Verbier, Switzerland; Zurich, Switzerland; Berlin, Germany; Hamburg, Germany and Istanbul, Turkey and are providing better than hotel service within the privacy and security of your own residence. 

One new owner at Du Parc in Lake Geneva, Tony Parker, an NBA San Antonio Spurs basketball star, described it by saying "Being at home feels like living in a James Bond movie".

Of course, none of this comes cheaply.  For instance prices at Du Parc in Lake Geneva range between 4.7 million Swiss francs for a two-bedroom apartment to 24 million Swiss francs for a penthouse (AU$5.0 million to AU$28.0 million).

Charles Weston-Baker, head of estate agent Savills International says "The international super-wealthy are cash rich and time poor. They are snapping up this sort of development" and that doesn’t surprise me.

And, at different levels so is everyone else who chooses to live in high density … so maybe there’s lessons for all apartment development in these extreme examples.

See you after my spa and massage at home ….

Francesco …