They are going to be in relatively diminishing numbers in 15 years' time. O'Connor said he believed Melbourne still would be defined by its middle and outer suburbs because that is where the jobs were - in technology industries, research and development and warehousing. Historian Michael Cannon is an expert on one of Melbourne's great busts, the depression that brought the building boom to an end 100 years ago. The city was more resilient now, he said, with a better balanced, more robust economy. Even so, developers and speculators can only get away with their schemes as long as there is no serious downturn.
Nothing is guaranteed.
For example, a quarter of Melbourne's expanded inner-urban population comprises tertiary students. Of these, 30per cent are from overseas, primarily from Asian countries. Their numbers could fluctuate. Like O'Connor, she wonders how many buyers for new inner-urban apartments are investors and how many really intend to occupy them. Department of Infrastructure research shows the net increase in inner-city residents occurred almost entirely from people aged 20 to 29.