When it comes to the growing conversation around apartment living in Australia, the most interesting proposition might also be the smallest.
A quietly distinct category – call it true boutique – is attracting serious attention: buildings of just four to six residences, where limited scale is not a marketing term but an architectural philosophy. Here, design freedom and individual expression combine in ways larger developments simply cannot accommodate.
The result feels like a private home with the ease of a lock-and-leave – and right now, four compelling brand new builds are on the market around the country.
22 Edward Street, Bondi NSW
Set within a leafy enclave 500 metres from the famous beach, 22 Edward Street is a collection of just four residences designed by Woods Bagot for developer Cadmium Property, and priced from $2,110,000.
Design director Domenic Alvaro says the site's character shaped the entire approach: "I love this part of Bondi. The residential scale, the Morton Bay figs, the north-facing aspect – they all speak to home quality."
Woods Bagot principal Tracey Wiles, who led the interiors, describes each home as "a distinct dwelling rather than a variation on a type," each with its own spatial sequence, custom joinery and relationship to light and views.
Developer Camilla Done says committing to four homes was a deliberate act of restraint: "It was important that they felt like four bespoke homes, rather than a multi-residential block of apartments. A four-residence building brings a lovely balance of both community and privacy."
Caroline Fagerlund, senior director at SRM Residential, which manages sales for the project, notes that buildings of this scale and value tend to appeal to buyers who would have otherwise found themselves in the freestanding home market.
"They are home-scaled residences without the house maintenance costs," she said.
Each home at 22 Edward Street has been designed as a distinct residence. Image: realestate.com.au
Murphy x Domain, South Yarra VIC
In one of Melbourne's most tightly held precincts, Murphy x Domain comprises just six residences – three and four bedrooms – designed by Studio McCue and developed by Abadeen, priced from $3,950,000 and due for completion in March 2027.
Architect Chris McCue describes true boutique buildings as occupying a meaningful middle ground – "a curated selection of homes where design freedom and expression combines with the smarts of commercial practice."
For McCue, that starts with understanding who will live there.
"Each home is usually a prototype for living," he says, "drawing on years of practice about how the demographic wants to live – typically for a client that is in a next phase of their lives."
True boutique also demands a particular kind of collaboration: "we work hand in hand with the client's assembled consultant and building team," McCue says, "to achieve the design vision, where the extent of customisation in architectural and interior design detail is workshopped extensively."
Community is equally front of mind. "There is always an intent to foster community in smaller apartment buildings," he adds, "to enable incidental interactions."
Here, the lifts are sized to carry generously scaled furniture and art, so that residents can plan to bring the possessions that mean the most to them.
"For buyers weighing up any project at this scale, his advice is clear: "The built track record of the development team is a good indicator of attention to detail and build quality.”
Smaller apartment buildings like Murphy x Domain are intended to foster a strong sense of community. Image: realestate.com.au
101 Loller Street, Brighton VIC
Recetly completed, 101/1A Loller Street is a six-residence boutique development by Telha Clarke architects in a leafy Brighton neighbourhood five minutes' walk from Church Street, priced from $1,700,000.
Interiors were curated by Mim Design. Architect Tim Clarke says working at this scale allows the practice to "focus on the finer details and the human scale of the building elements" – an approach that allows landscape design, interior design and architecture to become "more seamlessly integrated" than a larger project typically allows.
As the landscaping matures around the building, that integration deepens, bringing "greater comfort, intimacy and grounding, while reinforcing the architectural ambition for high amenity, liveability and a meaningful relationship to its setting."
For Clarke, that intimacy is the whole point. "True boutique means you are one of few, not one of many," Clarke says. "It means spaces which allow for personalisation and effortless luxury."
There's a luxury quality to true boutique apartment buildings, with only a limited supply of homes on offer. Image: realestate.com.au
VANA, Kingscliff NSW
On the Northern Rivers coast, 15 minutes from Gold Coast Airport, VANA brings six architecturally designed residences to 224 Marine Parade in Kingscliff – a range of three and four-bedroom homes from half-floor residences to a full-floor penthouse, each designed to maximise light, privacy and ocean connection, and priced from $2,595,000.
DA approval is in place and the project is selling with an anticipated mid-2027 completion.
Nick Witheriff of Witheriff Group says the decision to hold to six residences was about maximising what each home could offer – generous floor plates, private outdoor areas, a considered relationship to the coast – rather than simply building more.
That restraint pays off for owners on the numbers too: strata fees at VANA average around $186 a week, approximately 25 per cent below the $250 charged at a comparable 24-apartment project on the same street.
Fewer shared spaces, Witheriff says, means fewer shared costs - and one of the more persuasive arguments for going truly boutique.
With a small number of homes, such as at Vana, developers can maximise what each home provides. Image: realestate.com.au
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