I could have bought a house with a backyard but instead, I decided to bring my kids up in a two-bedroom apartment in Sydney
A Sydney real estate agent and mother-of-two, Chloe Hart, has spoken out about her decision to raise her two young sons in a two-bedroom apartment in Manly rather than buying a larger house, arguing that neighbourhood and lifestyle matter more to family life than square footage. Her comments, shared after an Instagram post on the subject went viral, reflect what she describes as a broader shift among buyers who increasingly prioritise location, walkability and community over extra bedrooms or a backyard.
Hart, who works for Belle Property, bought the apartment with her husband in 2021 and says the trade-off has given the family more time to enjoy the outdoors rather than maintaining a large home. Her remarks coincide with a new study by health insurer iSelect, which ranked Manly 10th among Australia's best places to raise a family based on measures including childcare cost and availability, healthcare and birth rates; childcare there accounts for just 22.4 per cent of household income. Sydney suburbs dominated the top 10, with Dural-Wisemans Ferry second, Leichhardt third and Ku-ring-gai fifth nationally.
- Sydney agent says lifestyle beats extra bedrooms when raising kids.
- She chose a Manly apartment over a bigger house.
- Manly ranked 10th nationally for family-friendliness in new study.
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Chloe Hart, a real estate agent from Sydney, has drawn attention online after explaining why she and her husband chose a two-bedroom apartment in the beachside suburb of Manly to raise their two sons, rather than a bigger house elsewhere. Her comments touch on an ongoing debate among home buyers about whether location and lifestyle matter more than extra space when it comes to family living.
The discussion coincides with a new ranking from health insurer iSelect of the best Australian suburbs for raising children, based on factors such as childcare costs and availability, healthcare access and birth rates. Manly placed tenth on that list, with several other Sydney suburbs also featuring prominently near the top.
This story sits within a wider conversation in Australia about housing choices, affordability and what makes a suburb good for family life, at a time when property prices in major cities remain a significant concern for many buyers.