Clean Air: The Next Luxury Apartment Perk
Technology that seamlessly fixes air quality will become widespread in homes by 2030, real-estate developers say. Will homebuyers care once the pandemic subsides?
Technology that seamlessly fixes air quality will become widespread in homes by 2030, real-estate developers say. Will homebuyers care once the pandemic subsides?
When buyers of real-estate developer John Roe’s seven condos walk into their new Manhattan homes sometime after May next year, Mr Roe wants them to breathe deep and feel good about it. That’s because he has spared no expense on air quality.
The boutique building, called Charlotte of the Upper West Side, is being constructed with an airtight external shell. Fresh air, tempered, filtered and then treated with ultraviolet light, will be constantly pumped into each room, while the same amount of used air is extracted. If a resident is worried—say they muttered “God bless you” to a sniffly dinner guest a worrisome number of times last night—they can boost the air exchange in their unit by 120%. Buyers of Mr Roe’s properties will be well aware of how special their air is: Marketing materials, which typically might describe the amenities and luxe touches, include elaborate diagrams and animations describing how the air system works.
The cost of all this magnificent air? The cheapest unit will list at $11 million (A$14.5 million), while penthouses will hit $18 million (A$23.8 million), Mr Roe says. Those price tags are largely due to the location, size and luxury finishes of the units, but the air system wasn’t cheap, either, Mr Roe says. Still, like everything else in real estate that was once the preserve of the elite—think roof decks, gyms, stainless steel—these technologies were already on a path of increased adoption and lower cost. Covid-19 has poured accelerant on the trend.
Executives at some of the country’s largest developers say they believe that by 2030 such systems will be commonplace in all residential development. Buildings with a high degree of mechanical ventilation and energy efficiency will be routine. Indoor sensors will identify when air quality has dropped and automatically increase ventilation. Systems will aim to mitigate outdoor air problems, such as general pollution or smoke from bushfires, as well as indoor threats, such as a sick resident, a burned pot roast or overenthusiastic spraying of lemon polish. Homes will feature dynamic air systems with a “crisis mode” that can upgrade filtration and run a disinfection protocol. Once the threat has been neutralised, systems will return to status quo to save energy.
At the same time, questions remain about what technology is most effective and worth the cost in both dollars and energy use. Will home buyers care about air quality when Covid-19 is no longer affecting daily life?
Scott Walsh, a vice president and project director for Lendlease, a global real estate and investment firm, says he believes that, armed with a new understanding about air quality, consumers will demand homes that improve it.
Already, developers are drawing up blueprints with a focus on fresh air flow, filtration and purification.
“Air quality is now front of mind for our buyers,” says Elisa Orlanski Ours, chief planning and design officer at Corcoran Sunshine, the new development wing of the Corcoran Group real-estate brokerage. Her developer clients are currently exploring how to filter and disinfect the air in both public and private spaces, she says.
The most cutting edge technology today, which will gradually become less expensive and more widespread, is an “energy recovery ventilator,” says Andrea Mancino, executive vice president of New York for Bright Power, an energy management consultant. These are ventilation systems that recapture energy from hot air leaving the building to heat or cool the filtered fresh air going back in.
Air quality experts believe that the wide adoption of MERV 13 or 14 air filters—which the ASHRAE trade group, formerly known as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, recommended in April—will be sufficient to manage major particle-related problems. MERV, or “minimum efficiency reporting value,” describes the efficiency of a filter at trapping particles of different sizes.
The pandemic has brought a jolt of interest to systems that go beyond filtering undesirable particles out of the air. Instead, they act upon particles to destroy them, through ultraviolet light, UV photo oxidation, ionization and other tactics. Scientific studies are expected to shed light on which methods and systems are most effective in a home.
“All these products work somewhat differently, and for a lot of these new products, we don’t have good studies to know how well they actually work,” says Max Sherman, the residential team leader of ASHRAE’s epidemic task force.
Gandolfo Schiavone, president of Sav Mor Mechanical, an HVAC company, says that since July his company has installed over 300 air purifiers on buildings’ existing ventilation systems around the New York area. Blueair, a Swedish maker of portable air purifiers that Unilever bought in 2016, has seen triple-digit growth this year, says chief product officer Jonas Holst.
Mr Holst believes that the U.S. will eventually buy air purifiers at the same rate as Asia. “In the U.S., the penetration rate for purifiers is about 15%. In Japan and Korea, about 40% of homes have an air purifier,” he says.
Sensor technology that analyzes indoor air quality is already in use in a handful of new luxury homes. Delos, which founder Paul Scialla describes as a “wellness real estate and technology company,” sells a system that monitors and mitigates air, water and light quality. Through an app, homeowners can see when their air quality drops below optimal standards; the built-in system then triggers ventilation.
In the near future, sensor-based technology that not only detects problems, such as cleaning chemicals in the air, but also responds by, say, automatically ventilating a space, will become widespread, as more manufacturers create better and cheaper systems, contractors learn about them and homeowners demand them, predicts Ryan Donovan, senior category manager for indoor air quality at Ferguson Enterprises, a seller of plumbing and HVAC products. Systems will also become more sensitive: “In 10 years, I do think it’s possible that the sensor will tell you there’s a flu virus,” Mr Donovan says.
Insiders compare the current state of the air quality industry to the early days of the organic food movement, before a U.S. Department of Agriculture standard was formalised. Today, there are a handful of voluntary certifications that speak to air quality, including Passive House and the WELL Building standard, founded by Mr Scialla’s Delos. Whether such labelling will eventually cohere into a government-backed standard, or lead to regulation, isn’t known.
At Lakehouse, a 196-unit condo building in Denver, developer Brian Levitt designed features he hopes will help him achieve the WELL certification “gold” level, he says. The apartments are for sale for US$499,000 to US$1.825 million. Mr Levitt says that residents will get their own ventilated air, furnishings were “off-gassed” in a warehouse for months, and he used low VOC paints and glues. “Buyers may not be willing to pay a premium for WELL yet, but we do think it increased our sales absorption,” and lowers resistance to multifamily living, says Mr Levitt, president of NAVA Real Estate Development.
Air quality is a concern across the price spectrum. Michael Bohn, senior principal at Studio One Eleven, an architecture and design firm based in Long Beach, Calif., redesigned an affordable-housing complex in Santa Ana, Calif., after the pandemic struck. It will now include MERV 14 filters and balconies for each unit.
Indoor air quality cannot widely improve until the building industry finds ways to ventilate, heat, cool, filter and purify air in an energy efficient way. Newly-constructed buildings have the best shot, says Dr Sherman: They can be designed to avoid leakage of air and can use the most efficient mechanical systems. Retrofitting existing buildings while meeting green building standards that will eventually become law is harder, says Derek Tynan, a project engineer with Efficient Energy Compliance, a consulting firm for commercial buildings in New York.
Developers and engineers believe one of the answers lies in dynamic systems that can boost air quality mitigations in times of crisis—thus using more energy—and then reset to a more energy-efficient setting when it is safe to do so.
It’s not clear whether pandemic shock will lead to lasting change. Dan Holohan, an author of 24 books about the steam heat industry, has studied engineering manuals during and after the 1918 flu pandemic. Back then, there was lots of discussion of “the fresh air movement,” but once it was all over, so was any mention of infectious disease, says Mr Holohan.
“Once we get vaccinated, people will forget this ever happened and get back to doing the cheapest thing,” he says.
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Melbourne’s lifestyle appeal is driving record population growth — and rising rents. Here are the six most expensive suburbs to rent a house in right now.
Melbourne is considered Australia’s most liveable city. In fact, Melbourne competes on the global stage, consistently ranking among Time Out’s top cities to live in the world and ranking fourth in 2025. Melbourne is a cultural mecca filled with arts, x, and the country’s best sporting events.
It’s the lifestyle factor that has seen Melbourne’s population grow by over 142,000 people over the 23/24 financial year, largely driven by overseas migration. With increased population comes increased demand for properties, particularly in the rental market.
Akin to Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, Melbourne’s South Eastern suburbs, towards Bayside and the water, dominate the most expensive suburbs listed to rent across the Victorian capital.
In this article, we’ve examined the six most expensive suburbs to rent a house in Melbourne right now, according to property data analytics firm Cotality (formerly CoreLogic).
Median purchase: $3.15m
Median rent: $1,353
Brighton is Melbourne’s most expensive suburb to rent a house, and it’s easy to see why. A blend of grand period homes and modern architectural builds line the wide, tree-filled streets. The suburb is synonymous with luxury, and rental properties—especially those close to the famed Brighton Beach and its iconic bathing boxes—are snapped up quickly. Vacancy rates sit at a tight 0.9 per cent.
The Neighbourhood
Brighton offers an enviable mix of a beachside lifestyle and convenient shopping and dining. With access to top schools like Brighton Grammar and Firbank, plus Church Street’s boutiques and the Royal Brighton Yacht Club, the Bayside suburb is the complete package for Melbourne’s high-end renters.
Median purchase: $2.8m
Median rent: $1,313
Long known for its timeless Victorian and Edwardian homes, Malvern is a leafy inner suburb with prestige appeal. Many properties here are fully renovated period homes, featuring extensive gardens and original features that appeal to families and executives.
The Neighbourhood
Malvern boasts a refined atmosphere with a strong community feel. Glenferrie Road and High Street offer upscale cafes, boutiques, and grocers, while schools like De La Salle and St Joseph’s make the suburb particularly attractive to families.
Median purchase: $2.29m
Median rent: $1,253
Nestled along the Bayside coast, Black Rock has seen steady growth in both house prices and rents in recent years. Larger blocks and a quieter, more laid-back vibe than neighbouring suburbs make this a coveted spot for renters seeking both space and lifestyle.
The Neighbourhood
Black Rock is home to the picturesque Half Moon Bay and scenic cliffside walks. The suburb blends beachside charm with village convenience, offering local cafés, golf courses, and direct access to some of Melbourne’s best coastal trails.
Median purchase: $2.21m
Median rent: $1,199
Sandringham, next door to Black Rock, offers more of the same as its neighbouring suburb, at similar prices. Sandringham too ticks the box for laid-back waterside recreation, with the majority of homes in walking distance to the sand and charming village shops.
The Neighbourhood
This is a family-friendly suburb with a strong community vibe. Sandringham Village, with its mix of cafes, wine bars, and boutiques, sits just a short walk from the train station and beach. The area also offers excellent sporting facilities and parks. Sandringham Harbour is the local landmark, a popular destination for boating, fishing, and waterfront views from Sandringham Yacht Club.
Median purchase: $3.15m
Median rent: $1,179
Canterbury is the innermost Melbourne suburb on this list. It is considered one of Melbourne’s most prestigious suburbs, defined by grand family homes, generally over-the-top opulent new builds with French Provincial façades behind gated entries.
The Neighbourhood
Canterbury is anchored by the exclusive “Golden Mile” precinct and is surrounded by elite private schools such as Camberwell Grammar and Strathcona. Maling Road provides a quaint village feel, while the area’s lush green spaces complete the picture of prestige.
Median purchase: $2.3m
Median rent: $1,171
It’s back to Bayside for the sixth and final suburb on the priciest rental areas in Melbourne. Hampton is not too dissimilar to Brighton, with a main High Street providing convenience and the beach rounding out the relaxed lifestyle found on the bay. The suburb has undergone significant gentrification, with many original homes replaced by contemporary builds.
The Neighbourhood
With a stretch of clean, family-friendly beach and the bustling Hampton Street shopping strip, Hampton has everything renters could want—from stylish cafes to gourmet grocers and boutique fitness studios. Its proximity to Brighton and Sandringham only adds to its appeal.
Median purchase: $460,000
Median rent: $430
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Melton South—roughly 40km west of the CBD—offers the most affordable rental market. With a median rent of under $450 a week, it’s less than a third of the weekly rent in Brighton. The suburb attracts families and first-home renters seeking value and larger land lots.
Toorak is considered the Point Piper of Melbourne. Boasting even more billionaires than Sydney’s harbourside hotspot, Toorak is home to Melbourne’s most expensive houses, and reportedly Australia’s most expensive house sale if the 1860s Italianate mansion Coonac settles at over $130 million.
The suburb has some of the best educational institutions in Melbourne, as well as luxury homes on the Yarra, two train stations, and a central shopping precinct undergoing a full transformation with several mixed-use retail and residential developments. It is definitely the place to be.
As of May 2025, Brighton is Melbourne’s most expensive suburb to rent a house.
As of May 2025, Melton South is Melbourne’s most expensive suburb to rent a house.
As of May 2025, Toorak is Melbourne’s most expensive suburb to buy a house.
As of May 2025, Beaumaris is Melbourne’s most expensive suburb to buy a unit
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