The Rise of Single-Story Living: Why Duplexes Are Adapting to Buyer Demand with Maria Laverde of Duplex Building Design

[00:00:04] Well, welcome to another episode of the Residential Developer Podcast. I'm the host, Nathan Battishall. And once again, I'm really privileged and honoured to have Maria Laverde, the lead designer at Duplex Building Design. Good to have you back, Maria.

[00:00:19] Good morning, Nathan. Nice to be back.

[00:00:21] It's, we thought what we'd do today is have a conversation around a topic that has made a real emergence the last, I guess, 12 or 18 months is single-storey duplexes and dual occupancy.

[00:00:35] So we're going to talk about some of the pros, the cons, advantages, disadvantages, maybe even get into some elements of design.

[00:00:43] So, look, have you, can you just give us a bit of an insight into what you've seen as someone who designs a lot of product, dual locks, duplexes?

[00:00:54] Have you seen a lot more people sort of pushing or people starting to move into the space of single-storey the last couple of years?

[00:01:02] A lot.

[00:01:02] Yes.

[00:01:03] Lately, a lot of the developers have started looking into single-storey, especially into the new subdivisions.

[00:01:13] Because the price of the build doesn't stack up for the cost of a two-storey development.

[00:01:20] So we are exploring on how it will look to be a single-storey, what can fit good designs that, while still are good to live in, still make the profit that they are after.

[00:01:36] So it is definitely something that is in trend.

[00:01:39] And also, it's a great product for the people that is getting older, so they don't have to have steps.

[00:01:49] So it's also a market that a lot of the developers are targeting.

[00:01:55] So because of the interest rates and everything becoming more expensive, the single-storey duplexes has become very popular.

[00:02:04] Yep.

[00:02:05] So let's go, let's look at demographics.

[00:02:07] Demographics, for example, obviously a downsizer, lack of steps, not having to walk up steps, not having to clean upstairs is obviously an advantage.

[00:02:19] And I guess people with money who are happy to spend money at the moment probably is that older demographic.

[00:02:26] Are you finding that that is a big target?

[00:02:29] Yes.

[00:02:30] Well, a lot of the people think about how to future-proof the duplexes.

[00:02:37] And we many times, depending on the location, either include a lift or have the option of adding a lift if needed for a two-storey.

[00:02:49] But in reality is that despite of having a lift, it's easier to have just a one-level duplex or dwelling.

[00:02:59] It also makes feel some people that their house is granted.

[00:03:05] So their spaces are bigger and they can just flow easier.

[00:03:12] So it definitely has a lot of advantages.

[00:03:15] And for the downside, being people, it does feel like you are already moving into something that you can grow older without having to make changes.

[00:03:27] Because many times people get into dwellings and say, all right, you can live here.

[00:03:32] There might be a master bedroom downstairs.

[00:03:34] You might be able to incorporate a lift.

[00:03:38] But in the back of their head, it's not ready.

[00:03:41] They might need to make amendments or changes.

[00:03:44] While these ones, they might not be at that stage yet, but they don't have to make changes to their house.

[00:03:51] It's already there as how they be moving it in 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

[00:03:58] They won't have to change anything in the house.

[00:04:03] It's interesting because I think you look in the 80s, 80s and 90s, a lot of product were single-storey.

[00:04:10] You look at even the 60s, 70s.

[00:04:14] Probably in the 80s, we saw the emergence of double-storey houses in suburban areas.

[00:04:20] Obviously, regional towns, single-storey is still very popular.

[00:04:25] So, obviously, it's funny how trends shift.

[00:04:28] Like, we're now sort of going back into some of those trends where we are seeing a real emergence of the single-storey.

[00:04:37] It feels like you're going back in time a little bit.

[00:04:39] Yes, it's funny that you say that.

[00:04:42] Exactly.

[00:04:42] I heard a conference about it a couple of weeks ago, and it said that a lot of people is actually coming to – in the 80s and 90s, it was as big as you can make it.

[00:04:54] Yeah.

[00:04:55] Just make it grand, but five-by-five bedrooms and things like that.

[00:05:00] Now it's more about I want the space.

[00:05:04] I want to feel comfortable.

[00:05:05] I want to take advantage of my site, but I really don't need five bedrooms.

[00:05:10] Yeah.

[00:05:10] I can't live with a three-bedroom one and maybe a rampage or a three-bedroom with a big living.

[00:05:17] Yeah.

[00:05:17] There is no – this generation and people is now more conscious about it's okay to have a well-distributed house instead of having the biggest of the street.

[00:05:30] Yeah.

[00:05:31] Yeah, because there is a bit of an emergence, and it's obviously not everywhere.

[00:05:34] There are people that still want big spaces, lots of spaces.

[00:05:38] But you're right, there are a lot of people that have, I guess, adapted to that simplistic type living or minimalistic, I guess you'd say, where less is more.

[00:05:49] Yeah.

[00:05:49] And having those warm spaces that don't have to be three living areas and –

[00:05:56] Less cleaning.

[00:05:57] Five bedrooms – five bedrooms of which two you never use.

[00:06:00] Yes, exactly.

[00:06:00] And obviously, like, if you have a growing family or if you like to entertain a lot, like, big spaces are amazing.

[00:06:10] But if you don't have families only yourself or yourself and a partner, one kid, the big, big spaces mean more work.

[00:06:20] Yeah.

[00:06:21] So some people is now thinking, do I really need it or I might just get a bit extra and stick to the single-story levels, which in reality is much more cost-effective and faster to be built.

[00:06:38] Yeah.

[00:06:38] Definitely.

[00:06:38] Yeah.

[00:06:39] So we will get through those explanations, yeah.

[00:06:41] And even just this topic we're talking about today, it's probably – just thinking about it, it's probably – even my own reality, I've been thinking about it.

[00:06:50] Obviously, my mother-in-law is in the 70s.

[00:06:53] She struggles at our house with the amount of steps and we get nervous because she started to fall every now and then.

[00:07:00] But we've been looking at ways to move her closer to us and I'm actually amazed at the lack of single-story housing.

[00:07:12] But the problem is it's so competitive at the moment, that housing.

[00:07:18] It's obviously so sought after, which tells me that there is a massive market for it.

[00:07:23] But even just in my own head, I've been running numbers of how could you do a development?

[00:07:30] Maybe it'd be two double-story townhouses with a single-story villa and you've really got to get the land for the right price because it just – on a lot of blocks, it doesn't stack up to do the single-story.

[00:07:41] But I think there is a massive lack of stock to hit that demographic, which tells me that those who are doing it, it's quite competitive.

[00:07:51] Well, yes, we have seen it already.

[00:07:55] We have few products of single-story that were on the market.

[00:08:00] And it was really interesting to talk to the builder, who was also the client, saying that even before he put them in the market, he had a few people knocking on the door on his job site just saying, can we get in and look at it?

[00:08:17] This is exactly what we have been looking for.

[00:08:21] So the market is there.

[00:08:25] Obviously, people sometimes think, but how do I get the price in a top-of-the-range, in a very good location that costs a lot of money?

[00:08:36] How do I get that money?

[00:08:38] Well, it's reciprocating because at the same time, the people that is in the need of those developments, single-story, is most likely the boomers.

[00:08:49] Which we are also targeting, which also have the money to spend.

[00:08:54] So it is relative in the sense of how much you are expecting to receive and how much it's going to cost you to be built.

[00:09:03] There is no such a development out there in mass.

[00:09:09] So you kind of would be competing with older houses that have been renovated or with a good brand new product.

[00:09:20] We can also add certain features to single-story that might even make more interesting the single-story to the buyers.

[00:09:30] And we can add features such as livable housing.

[00:09:34] That means maybe make certain areas that will make easier living for people that is older.

[00:09:45] So it doesn't mean that it's for people in wheelchair.

[00:09:49] It is just people that is aging.

[00:09:50] Now, we are obviously saying that the single-story is only for getting growing old.

[00:09:57] And that is not the case.

[00:09:59] But it is just the first thing that you think.

[00:10:05] And, okay, it is easier when you get older not to have steps.

[00:10:09] But I would love to live in a single-story house.

[00:10:11] Yeah.

[00:10:12] Yeah, that's it.

[00:10:13] I think, yeah, I agree.

[00:10:17] I grew up in a rural part of New South Wales, west of Dubbo, on an outskirts of town on a farm with mum and dad.

[00:10:25] No one had double-story.

[00:10:27] So I agree.

[00:10:28] Yeah.

[00:10:29] But definitely it is the experiences that we have in relation to single-story is it is a great product to start putting out there.

[00:10:42] There is no competition, and especially in new subdivisions.

[00:10:49] If you have a block in new subdivisions, I would 100% explore the single-story.

[00:10:56] Yeah.

[00:10:56] Over the two-story at the moment.

[00:10:59] Yeah.

[00:10:59] At the moment.

[00:11:00] Yes.

[00:11:00] Because most likely you are going to have the same or even a slightly bigger profit that if you have a two-story with less of the headaches.

[00:11:13] And much faster building times.

[00:11:15] Yeah.

[00:11:16] So probably a bigger buying pool of people.

[00:11:18] Exactly.

[00:11:19] Because we were discussing this before the podcast, and there is a lot of people that is having to hold at the moment some of their products despite the location.

[00:11:29] Yeah.

[00:11:30] And despite which level of prices we are talking about.

[00:11:36] And it's because there is in certain areas a lot of stock.

[00:11:41] Yeah.

[00:11:43] Or the prices are just not hitting the numbers that people is needing.

[00:11:47] Yeah.

[00:11:48] But it doesn't happen with the single-story.

[00:11:50] Yeah.

[00:11:50] We have seen.

[00:11:52] We visited last time that we went out to take some videos, and there were some single-story dwellings in a new subdivision in the South Coast that the builder was impressed to say that he sold them off the plans only with the frames.

[00:12:12] And he hasn't even advertised them.

[00:12:14] There's just people driving around looking at the new subdivision saying, this is a single-story.

[00:12:19] This is what we need, and literally knock on the door and say, are you selling them?

[00:12:25] We want them.

[00:12:26] Yeah.

[00:12:26] So it's mind-blowing to think that that is happening.

[00:12:31] And literally the builder said we only had the frames and a couple of windows when we sold them off the plans.

[00:12:40] Yeah.

[00:12:40] So it's incredible.

[00:12:41] Yeah.

[00:12:41] Yeah.

[00:12:42] And you're right.

[00:12:43] And it goes to show at the moment there's an appetite.

[00:12:47] And I always say, like, even in a tough market, there's always a product out there that people want.

[00:12:54] And at the moment, obviously, interest rates, inflation have really hurt a lot of the economy.

[00:13:01] We're seeing a lot of product is not selling.

[00:13:04] You look at a lot of products with a lot of steps.

[00:13:11] Although there's a demographic out there for that product, that particular demographic, younger families or people, mid-age families, some are holding back because they don't want to get the mortgage at the moment.

[00:13:23] Or they're just not in that position.

[00:13:26] And it's tougher to get money, too, for some people at the moment.

[00:13:30] And some people just don't want the financial strain.

[00:13:33] But then you look at the single story.

[00:13:35] You've got a demographic who most of them don't have a mortgage anymore.

[00:13:40] They can use cash.

[00:13:41] They can buy property with cash.

[00:13:43] And because there's competition for that product, people are getting a great price.

[00:13:49] Like a prime example, you've got a double story, four-bedroom, steps, steeper block, way bigger property selling for $920.

[00:13:59] Then you've got that three-bedroom duplex you spoke about, single story, only three-bedroom, two-bathroom, you know, small single story but selling for $985.

[00:14:12] And in terms of the build costs, the double story is costing a couple of hundred K more to build.

[00:14:17] But it's getting – it actually got more from a resale point purely because obviously there's not a lot of product around.

[00:14:24] So it's –

[00:14:24] No.

[00:14:25] And when you think about the amount of cost that you are cutting at the time of single story, you don't need to hire scaffolding.

[00:14:36] You rely on most likely less amount of traders to come in and out of the site.

[00:14:45] And the timeframe of getting things built is also much quicker.

[00:14:51] So that also makes you pay less interest.

[00:14:56] And if you sell it faster, well, that is an extra benefit of the single story.

[00:15:02] So definitely it is – my advice, it is coming and it is coming strong.

[00:15:09] So if you can get on to it soon, that is the way of moving forward for a little while.

[00:15:16] Yes.

[00:15:17] It does have its downside.

[00:15:18] It does – it is harder to make it – the layout work.

[00:15:28] Yeah.

[00:15:28] When you have a two-story, generally – not always – generally you get into more of a welcome duplex, like entry porch, garage, living areas.

[00:15:42] And it's more the space for laundry and powder room.

[00:15:45] But it is kind of the design of a two-story generally is to welcome guests.

[00:15:52] Yes.

[00:15:52] And the ground floor becomes the entertaining area and perhaps one bedroom if the site allows it.

[00:16:02] However, with the layout of a single story, inevitably the walkways become longer because you need to pass through the bedrooms before you get into the living area.

[00:16:14] Yeah.

[00:16:15] And that is sometimes a lack of privacy in a sense because if somebody comes to visit you, they need to pass through every single bedroom.

[00:16:26] Kids with messy rooms.

[00:16:27] Exactly.

[00:16:27] So you will end up closing doors.

[00:16:29] Yeah.

[00:16:29] And that is the reality of a single story, especially when the blocks are narrow because you ended up having one bedroom after the other with a narrow – narrow doesn't have to be, but with a walkway.

[00:16:44] Yeah.

[00:16:44] So you're standing at a 15-metre wide block.

[00:16:46] The reality is you're not going to be able to get your 1,200-wide –

[00:16:50] No.

[00:16:52] – hallway.

[00:16:52] Yes, no.

[00:16:53] Because it's just not going to fit.

[00:16:54] It's just not going to fit.

[00:16:56] Yeah.

[00:16:56] So that is the downside of the single story.

[00:16:59] If you get wider blocks and you pursue having a single story, then we can think on if there is an option of having certain facilities on both sides of the walkway, minimizing the pushback until you can actually reach the living area.

[00:17:19] Yeah.

[00:17:20] So that is an option.

[00:17:22] I have seen other duplexes where the living areas are in the middle.

[00:17:27] Yep.

[00:17:28] And that is also a possibility, but the blocks need to be much wider.

[00:17:33] Yeah.

[00:17:33] It cannot be the standard 1.5 otherwise.

[00:17:35] So we're talking like maybe like 16, 17, 18 metres.

[00:17:39] Yes, and we have done one in a Huskinson area where it was a corner block with a very complicated shape.

[00:17:47] Yeah.

[00:17:48] And because of the setbacks, it allowed us to have the living in the middle of the dwelling having a bigger distance.

[00:17:58] So it depends on where the sun sets and how you get solar access in order to see if you can play having the living area in the middle.

[00:18:07] But there are a lot of allowances for duplexes that are single story.

[00:18:13] We can have duplexes that are single story through DA or through CDC.

[00:18:18] There is no which one we have to take.

[00:18:21] And we explored once also having a single story with a basement.

[00:18:28] So you can also most likely use the space of the garage that was original for the garage.

[00:18:35] You can use it as a second living area, for example.

[00:18:39] Yeah.

[00:18:39] So there is a lot of things that we can do.

[00:18:42] But definitely if you are looking at a good build price, it's better to go single story with a standard single garage.

[00:18:54] I think it would be good to just do a few scenarios.

[00:18:57] I think even a lot of our listeners being investors, developers, builders who want to do projects and are maybe realising that, hey, a single story might be my best bet at the moment.

[00:19:10] Let's look at, for example, if the market says try and get a living room at the front.

[00:19:17] Like you said, a 15 metre wide block is just not going to cut it.

[00:19:22] What sort of width block are you thinking if you're going to have like an entry at the front and there's like a second living area or a little living area at the front than a couple of bedrooms?

[00:19:32] It depends on what the client thinks as a living area that would be suitable.

[00:19:38] That is, living areas that are called formal, which it is still a seating, but it's not as big as a living area.

[00:19:46] So when we think about a living area, the minimum dimension of that area should be four metres.

[00:19:54] But it doesn't mean that a seating area or a formal area doesn't work with a three metre or a 2.8.

[00:20:02] Especially if it's like a second living space.

[00:20:05] Exactly.

[00:20:05] So it depends on the use that it would be, that place would be having.

[00:20:09] But then what is the easier way to calculate how big you would end up having it is you need 950 one metre side setback and you need your garage.

[00:20:23] And the garage is three metres.

[00:20:25] You take from that the wall thicknesses and everything that is between the garage and the party wall, which is the subdivision of the two dwellings, that will be the living area.

[00:20:38] Yeah.

[00:20:38] So it depends on the width of the block.

[00:20:41] So if, you know, if we have a 15 metre wide, then you take 950 from each side.

[00:20:48] Then you ended up with around 6.5 metre wide side of the duplex minus the three metres.

[00:20:59] Then you ended up with around three and a half.

[00:21:02] Let's say that you take the half of a metre for the wall thicknesses.

[00:21:05] So you ended up with a living area of three metres at the front.

[00:21:08] Pretty much a bedroom.

[00:21:10] Yeah.

[00:21:10] A bedroom size.

[00:21:11] A standard bedroom size.

[00:21:12] Yeah.

[00:21:13] Yeah.

[00:21:13] And it's funny, isn't it?

[00:21:14] Because I think looking at the demographic, obviously a lot of the buyers are your downsizer.

[00:21:20] So you're either retired or getting close to a retired downsizer or maybe a young family with one kid.

[00:21:27] So sometimes actually a second smaller living area at the front that can be like a utility or an office or a study or a small second living might be more popular than four bedrooms.

[00:21:38] A hundred percent.

[00:21:38] And actually, now that you bring that up, I work with a client that wanted to have a little office.

[00:21:47] So yes, it was also the entry to their house, but we were able to have a little door that was enclosing that entry.

[00:21:58] So it means if they have somebody coming to have a meeting, then they could close that little door and it would be an enclosed area where their family could still be at the back or the house could be messy, but their office was enclosed in there.

[00:22:19] So it depends on the needs of the user, but that area can be used as a study, can be used as a formal, can be used as a second living.

[00:22:31] Yeah.

[00:22:32] Or if you have the north on that area, it would be a beautiful sun area.

[00:22:37] And I guess that living at the front too, it helps counteract that.

[00:22:42] Like you said, sometimes the single storey duplexes can feel not very inviting when you literally open the door and you've got this long, big hallway.

[00:22:51] At least if there's some sort of living area, you can make it feel a little bit more homely and welcoming.

[00:22:56] And someone, because it is awkward.

[00:22:59] You go to someone's house and if you're walking past all their bedrooms, I don't know if you felt that, but sometimes if you don't know that person very well too.

[00:23:07] You would like to walk like that.

[00:23:09] Yeah.

[00:23:09] I'm not looking in anywhere.

[00:23:11] Yeah, you feel awkward.

[00:23:11] You feel like you're walking into their private space rather than, whereas when you go straight into someone's living area, you feel like, I actually feel like I'm very welcomed.

[00:23:22] Yeah.

[00:23:22] So it is about the design and that is the biggest challenge that we face while designing a duplex.

[00:23:31] That is single storey.

[00:23:32] So how to give the user the privacy they need while having a product that will sell well.

[00:23:42] Yeah.

[00:23:42] So, but we have come up with solutions, but at the end it is the constraints of the site, the width of the block and the people that will be using them.

[00:23:58] Yeah.

[00:23:58] You know, many, many of the buyers are actually, again, downsizing people that have their family visiting.

[00:24:08] So they really don't care.

[00:24:09] Or maybe they only bring some close friends to their house or they don't.

[00:24:16] There's people that doesn't really like to entertain or in general.

[00:24:21] So it's not something that bothers them.

[00:24:23] Yeah.

[00:24:23] I would bring it up because there is people who actually feel, I prefer to go upstairs and have a two-story, which obviously we are a big advocate for the two-stories as well.

[00:24:34] Yeah.

[00:24:34] But in case that we want a single story, we want to flag what has been the biggest cons of that type of development.

[00:24:45] Yep.

[00:24:46] And I guess a lot of it does come down to what they can buy the block for too, because I think the challenge can be if they're paying too much for the site, well, that doesn't matter what product you build on that site, it's going to impact the resale.

[00:25:01] So sometimes, unfortunately, really big sites.

[00:25:05] Yes, you might be able to fit two big single-story dwellings, duplexes.

[00:25:09] But if you can fit three townhouses, sometimes you've got to weigh it up and just because you can build a single story doesn't mean that it stacks up.

[00:25:18] Yeah.

[00:25:18] That is when you need to run the numbers and find out exactly how much it's going to cost and visit the real estate agents and find out what is the need of those in the local area.

[00:25:34] You know, we are based in Kiama in New South Wales and the need of these sort of developments is enormous because we are having an enormous aging population in the area more than in other locations.

[00:25:49] So it's important to educate ourselves in what is needed in our area.

[00:25:54] Maybe we are in an area where it's full of young families.

[00:25:58] So it doesn't mean that it's not a good product to offer, but it might not be the one that has the biggest demand.

[00:26:05] Yeah.

[00:26:05] So, yeah, it is to find out what suits best and how much it's going to cost.

[00:26:12] And even probably running dual feasibilities.

[00:26:16] I know we've seen some people doing that now where they'll run a feeso based on a single-story duplex versus a double, both from a cost perspective but a resale perspective.

[00:26:25] And sometimes actually doing the three-bedroom, two-bathroom, single-garage single actually is more profitable than the four-bedroom, second-living area, maxed out double.

[00:26:41] But sometimes the numbers are quite similar.

[00:26:43] So you say, well, why would I spend all that extra money on construction to get a similar return?

[00:26:50] Yes, exactly.

[00:26:52] So it doesn't hurt to run both scenarios before you buy the site.

[00:26:56] No, and it doesn't surprise me.

[00:26:58] I didn't know how welcoming a single-story would have been.

[00:27:07] And it was an eye-opener the last couple of years when some builders were like, okay, we're going single-story.

[00:27:14] And I thought, what?

[00:27:17] Like, what?

[00:27:18] Because many times in a standard block, you still have FSR left.

[00:27:25] Yeah.

[00:27:25] And in a world and in a company where 80% of our clients are developers, we usually tend to maximize the sites.

[00:27:35] So you don't have FSR left.

[00:27:37] And when you have a single-story, there is sometimes that you build at the maximum that the site allows it in landscape and setbacks, and you still have more FSR.

[00:27:49] So when somebody, when my clients started asking for single-story, I thought, oh, this is so against what I am used to and what I know.

[00:27:59] So we put the designs out there, the clients build them.

[00:28:03] But then now visiting those designs and having a chat with the clients, the owners, and finding out that literally people is in such a demand for them is being a game changer.

[00:28:16] And at the time where building them is so much cheaper and faster, I think we need to put more of those developments out there for the crisis that we are having.

[00:28:29] Yeah.

[00:28:30] Yeah, I agree.

[00:28:31] And it's even areas where we haven't seen a lot of single-story product, we're going to see a lot more, aren't we?

[00:28:38] Like suburban areas, areas closer to Sydney, obviously regional areas, single-story is still very popular.

[00:28:45] It's always the popular, yeah.

[00:28:46] But the reality is there's an aging population in Sydney, South Coast, North Coast, Illawarra, Central Coast, Hunter, all over.

[00:28:56] Yes.

[00:28:57] I think that in the regional areas it is actually the opposite kind of people think, oh, you went two-story.

[00:29:07] It's too big.

[00:29:09] It's bulky.

[00:29:10] They're not used to see them, the two-story.

[00:29:13] And they don't have to.

[00:29:15] They don't need it.

[00:29:15] Yeah.

[00:29:16] You know, we have massive blocks in Davo, for example.

[00:29:20] Yep.

[00:29:21] They have the 800-meter block.

[00:29:23] So you, in reality, you don't need to go two-story.

[00:29:26] Yeah, that's right.

[00:29:26] Like there is no need of it.

[00:29:28] Or if you have a two-story, it would be maybe the parents' retreat, kind of like the division between I am here for my little resting time.

[00:29:39] Yeah.

[00:29:40] Or maybe an office or things like that.

[00:29:42] But I think that we need to provide more single-story in Central Coast, in South Coast, where we have always been driven by what has been trendy in the last 10 years, the two-story, the modern, the coastal, the huntings.

[00:30:01] And we still can give that feeling of the house, but with a more friendly approach in the sense of the people that will be living in there.

[00:30:15] And it is actually quite friendly with the sun as well, with the neighbours, with their privacy, with our privacy.

[00:30:23] So there will be many more out there.

[00:30:27] Yep.

[00:30:28] And in terms of lot size, so look, obviously 450 block, which is very common in some areas, 450, you're looking at what, three-bedroom, two-bar-through?

[00:30:38] Three bedrooms and two-bedrooms with a single garage.

[00:30:39] So if you're a developer thinking you're going to get four bedrooms in a sort of like that size, likely not.

[00:30:45] No, in that size, one fit a four-bedroom.

[00:30:50] But I also think that because of the cons that we discussed before, I would be very careful on fitting a four-bedroom in a narrow block.

[00:31:02] Yeah.

[00:31:02] Because if you multiply the amount of bedrooms times bathroom, plus all of that is the distance that you need to go walking from the entry to your living area.

[00:31:15] Yeah.

[00:31:16] So we really don't want to have 18 metres walk.

[00:31:22] Yeah.

[00:31:22] So for a single story with a standard 15 metres wide, I think that three is a good compromise for a single story.

[00:31:34] Yep.

[00:31:35] Excellent.

[00:31:36] Well, look, I think that's been a really good episode.

[00:31:38] I think we could probably even do a part two at some stage on that because I think it's here to stay for a good while, this system.

[00:31:46] So thank you for coming in.

[00:31:48] It's always good to have you share your insights.

[00:31:50] And look, if you've enjoyed this episode, which I'm sure you have, feel free to share it, like it, share it with people around you, and feel free to get in touch via all the show notes if you'd like to discuss doing a single story duplex with Maria.

[00:32:07] So thanks for listening in and we'll see you again next week.