Why ground floor apartment owners wouldn't live elsewhere

When the alarm clock went off at 7am, Rosemary Carnell was bewildered. It was still pitch black in her ground floor courtyard apartment. She turned the alarm off and turned over.

An hour later, it was still dark, but she couldn’t sleep. So she went into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea and was suddenly terrified to see a massive brown bear at her window, blocking out the light.

“I was scared at first because I was still half-asleep,” said Carnell at the time. “Then I realised it was just a giant teddy bear that had obviously fallen over the balcony from an apartment on an upper floor.

“It was holding out its arms and completely covered the window. But that wasn’t the first time I’d been visited by an animal.

“Another time, I heard a noise and found a cat in my courtyard. That had also fallen down but happily it had landed on all fours and was just scouting out the area.”

Advantages of ground floor apartments

There are huge advantages to living in a ground floor apartment. A large courtyard can be ideal for entertaining with space for a table, chairs and barbecue as well as the potential for lots of greenery.

William Gilchrist lived in a courtyard apartment in Rushcutters Bay for 10 years and absolutely loved it. The 50-square-metre outdoor space almost doubled the area of his 65-square-metre one-bedroom apartment and, with sliding glass doors from the interior, became the perfect extension to his living space.

Together with his partner Mark Callan, he ended up spending $30,000 to landscape the courtyard, with quality pavers, a fishpond, beautiful plants and stylish outdoor furniture.

“That courtyard was the reason we bought that apartment,” says Gilchrist. “We wanted to have a dog, and knew that would be perfect.

“It was also north-facing so we had sun all through winter, and we could just walk through the back gate to the block’s amenities on the same floor, like the pool and gym.”

“We wouldn’t hesitate to buy that kind of apartment again.”

Downsides of ground floor apartments

“The only disadvantage was people dropping things from above, like cigarette butts and occasionally dropping a glass they might have balanced on their balcony rail,” said Gilchrist.

It’s a common drawback of ground floor apartments. Few will ever forget the elegant note sent out by the building manager of a top Melbourne apartment block on behalf of philanthropist and arts administrator Lady (Primrose) Potter, who occupied a home on the podium level. She politely asked her fellow residents not to throw used condoms into her fish pond.

Extra outdoor space adds value

While ground floor apartments tend to be more expensive than others because of the outdoor space, resales can be strong too, as there are only a few in every building so there is little competition when it comes to the market.

Garden apartments can also be popular with tenants, attracting higher than normal rents.

“From my experience, we’ll find those apartments on the ground floor or podium level with large entertaining areas are highly sought-after, and sell quickly and for a premium,” says Murray Wood, partner residential project marketing at Knight Frank.

“They’re good for people with dogs, with kids, who are downsizing and are used to having a garden, or who want and entertaining area or barbecue. We recommend to developers now to maximise that outdoor space where possible.

“Of course, it’s always a trade-off for having views higher in the building, and maybe having people looking into your space from above, usually with envy, but many people choose those ground floor ones with outdoor space.

“Most good new apartments today also have gas, water, power and planter boxes already supplied to make it easier to use, maintain and enjoy.”

The better the building and the higher the percentage of owner-occupiers, the less likely it is that any items – including teddy bears and cats – will land on that level, he believes. A strong body corporate with rules that are enforced also deters that kind of behaviour.

“And with all the smart new technology now, with things like electric pergolas, people can really maximise the use of those areas,” says Wood.