A house or apartment with a “view” – any kind of view – is a luxury which commands a LARGE PRICE premium over those with no view.

In urban areas a home with a view is rare, and home-hunters get excited even at the prospect of a “partial view”.  Any kind of view ramps up the desirability – and thus the selling/rentable value – of a home.  Within the densely-packed buildings of most cities – especially as you get closer to the centre – any potential views are usually obstructed by nearby buildings and/or ruined by noisy roads, expanses of concrete, advertising hoardings, transmission poles, or the many other manifestations of urban ugliness.  

The kind of “view” you get from most apartment balconies 

Geography conspires to limit views since most cities are built on wide flat plains and – of those situated by a sea, lake, river or mountains – only expensive homes will have a direct frontage to those.  The only “view” that the great majority of urban homes have is of the building next door or the one across the street.  Anything more – a park view or a green hillside or – most sought-after of all, a water view or mountain view – or even partial views or “glimpses” of those – commands a hefty price premium.

Spending a lot of money doesn’t always buy you a view either as many expensive London riverside apartments don’t have a river view.   When advertised as “from £600,000”, those are the cheapest ones facing onto adjacent buildings and away from the river.   

THATS NOT A VIEW..! – THIS IS A VIEW..!!!  (as Crocodile Dundee might have said of this view from a $multi- million Sydney apartment)

HORIZONS..!

In the 1980’s I lived in Sydney – a famously scenic city, especially noted for its water views, even if they are only affordable for a wealthy few.   Although I lived just a stone’s throw from famous Bondi Beach my modest 2 bed flat (now reportedly worth almost $2 million) had no balcony and no view, but it didn’t bother me at the time because none of my previous addresses had views either and one doesn’t miss what one never had.   But in 1990’s Cape Town, to my delight and amazement, my alleged “white privilege” enabled me to afford PANORAMIC VIEWS at a very reasonable price..!   The mountain and sea views were amazing enough but the real revelation was that – for the first time in my life – I was able to observe, against the horizon, the rising and setting of the sun and the moon and the seasonal changes of their position     To country people this may sound trivial, but for someone who had always lived in a city, or a large town, it was a revelation..!

OA-Cities will enable AFFORDABLE VIEWS FOR ALL..!

External-facing apartments will have patios with UNOBSTRUCTED PANORAMIC VIEWS. Interior-facing will overlook an awesome atrium, resplendent with sub-tropical plants and water-features – all bathed in natural light from the 2500 m2 skylight.