Pets push up unit prices_英文原版

finding a pet-friendly apartment used to be hard, but units in high rises are now selling more quickly and for higher prices if the building is pet-friendly.

up to 80 per cent of potential apartment buyers either have a cat or a dog or intended to get one, said tim holmes, a senior project marketing manager for prdnationwide.

the same was true all over australia - if the building did not allow pets, buyers looked elsewhere, mr holmes said today.

"the ones who are pet friendly are showing greater capital growth than those which are not and they stay on the market a shorter time,'' mr holmes said.

a roomy balcony where a small to medium-sized dog could get some fresh air was just as much of a drawcard as facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts and gyms.

units which allowed pets were in high demand but owners tended to hang on to the property, he said.

when the properties did come up for sale, they were snapped up quickly and generally at higher prices than buildings where no pets were allowed.

mr holmes said sunland group's malibu building at queensland's main beach had a no-pets policy and recorded average capital growth of 15 per cent between 2001 and 2005 compared with girvan's silverpoint at broadbeach, which allowed pets and recorded growth of 20 per cent in the same period.

retired media sales executive bente tutton and her husband warren downsized from a large home at sanctuary cove to a 38th floor sub-penthouse at southport.

but they would never have made the move without their six-year-old maltese shih tzu-cross named bernie.

"there was no way the dog wasn't coming,'' ms tutton said.

ms tutton, who recently prepared a research paper for melbourne's swinburne university, found that of the 68 residential buildings in main beach, only 13 were pet-friendly.

but far being a handicap in a highrise, having a dog was seen by many buyers as a social and health advantage she said.

"the pet actually becomes the social catalyst when owners out walking their dogs meet other people and stop for a chat.

"it also makes them go out and exercise, whether they want to or not.''