Melbourne women are increasingly turning to apartment rentals and purchases as a way to protect themselves in response to horror statistics of crimes against woman.
Young women are choosing apartment living over traditional houses due to Melbourne’s crime wave, multiple experts say.
Women looking to buy and rent are moving away from freestanding houses and opting for secure apartments amid the city’s escalating offence rate, across recent years.
It comes amid growing concerns over women being the victims of horrific murders, sexual assaults and other felonies across Victoria.
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Latest Crime Statistics Agency data shows there were 79 reported murders of women in Victoria during the 12 months to March this year, the worst figure since 2017, when 92 such murders were reported.
Assault offences reported by women hit a record 25,640 — the second 12-month period in a row that it topped 25,000.
There were 9646 sexual offences reported by women, about 83 per cent of the state’s total and the highest level since at least 2017 when the number was 6416.
Stalking and harassment and threatening behaviour reports reached 5391, just short of a 5402 high-water mark set in the year to March, 2025.
Apartment Advocacy Australia chief executive Samantha Reece said that she has seen “a significant increase” in young women purchasing apartments.
“We know that safety is one of the reasons why,” she said.
As part of research the organisation conducts every two years, surveying more than 1100 people nationally, it has have found that safety and security are one of the top reasons young women are opting for apartment living.
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Australian Apartment Advocacy CEO Samantha Reece said young women looking at units were searching for safety features like CCTV and secure parking. Picture: Keith Woods.
“In particular what a lot of the women like is the use of a fob, or phone, to get into the front door and lobby. Then you also can’t go to the floor of another apartment without another safety measure,” Ms Reece said.
She mentioned other safety features attractive to young female buyers included lighting, secure car parks, and gated complexes that offered monotired entrances.
“We do emphasise the need for CCTV cameras, fobs that go just to the residents’ floor (and community areas) and ensuring there are no blind spots – for example if the building has visitor parking making sure that it actually has got a gateway for access and security,” Ms Reece said.
Property sales and marketing consultancy Alfa Projects director Dominic Ziino said that crime in Victoria has become out of control.
“Crime affects real estate, when a new building goes up, everyone makes money,” he said.
“But if things aren’t improved or gentrified they become run down and that’s when crime increases.”
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He explained that despite some apartment buildings prioritising CCTV, “the kids who commit the crimes will get let off anyway” and that the priority was for the government to step in to prevent unlawful behaviour in the first place.
“Crime is definitely happening everywhere and it’s only going to get bigger,” Mr Ziino said.
Property advisory and consulting firm Charter Keck Cramer’s national executive director, Richard Temlett, said the trend of women moving into apartments began prior to the Covid pandemic.
“With the crime stats more recently, unfortunately apartments are actually much more attractive to live in because there’s more owners and passive surveillance where lots of different people will look out their apartment window and see what is happening to make sure that cars aren’t getting broken into,” he said.
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Charter Keck Kramer Executive Director Richard Temlett said the trend began prior to the pandemic.
Mr Temlett explained that many young female buyers often hada checklist and asked property managers for security, CCTV and secure parking when inspecting an apartment.
“I don’t see the trend actually changing. I certainly hope the crime stats in Melbourne get addressed and Labor needs to be doing more on that to be perfectly honest ,” he said.
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