Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Volume of Brisbane Apartment Sales


Saturday, October 12, 2013

Soda Apartments, South Brisbane

A new development at South Brisbane is in pre-sale, Soda Apartments.  Lifestyle video here.

The building is 20 storeys, with 131 apartments.  It is behind Fish Lane Apartments, and is located at 27 Cordelia Street, which is a busy street leading on to the Go Between Bridge.  (Soda will impact the apartments on the northern side of new Fish Lane apartment building, which can be seen on the left in the rendering below.)

  • 19th Floor, 2 bed, 1 bath, 71 sqm, apt 1906 = $510,000
  • Apartment 608, 2 bed, 2 bath, 90 sqm, no view = $595,000
  • Apartment 602, 1 bed, 1 bath, no view = $375,000
  • Apt 604, 1 bed, 1 bath, no car, no view, 64 sqm = $340,000
  • Apt 1908, 3 bed, 2 bath, 190 sqm = $1,650,000
This pricing looks expensive to me!



Friday, October 11, 2013

Iglu Student Accommodation on Mary Street

At 65 Mary Street, Iglu Student Accommodation is planning to build a 23 storey building, with over 400 rooms (not really apartments).  It is a skinny block, with not much road frontage, and is right next to a government building on Mary Street.  The new development will be opposite M on Mary, which can be seen in the right on the photo below.  Details at BrisbaneDevelopment.


Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Rental Yields

Brisbane rental yields have increased dramatically over the past five years.  At least one commentator is suggesting that this means Brisbane real estate prices have room to increase.


Monday, October 7, 2013

Brisbane property marker simmers

"Brisbane’s market continues to simmer as we look to the southern states and wonder why they are
running so hot right about now. Our Brisbane buyers and sellers are feeling a touch more confident
about the year ahead, so we may well see some strengthening in pricing, but a definite price trend
hasn’t fully emerged as yet. ...

Units can also provide a great way to crack into the inner city market and shore up your equity. Walking distance to a community hub really is a must though. Tenants and residents alike don’t want to spend too much time within the walls of their unit. A cafĂ© strip allows for a getaway from the home and a stroll in the sunshine."

Valuers HTW has an excellent monthly publication, Month in Reivew.  It is worth reading each month.   The above is from the October edition.


Sunday, October 6, 2013

Is there a property bubble

Property Observer had a series of comments yesterday, as to whether there is a property bubble in Australia at present.  Queensland's market is not as hot as Sydney and Melbourne.  In fact, a Gold Coast real estate agent told me today that he is waiting 12 months for the Gold Coast to follow Sydney and start to pick up -- until then, no price increases.  And there are no off-the-plan apartment projects being marketed in Surfers or Broadbeach, and no cranes on the Gold Coast skyline at present.  If anything, real estate prices and cost of living is already high in Queensland, and job growth looks uncertain.  So unless there is a sudden rush of investors from the Southern states or from Asia, or massive migration into Queensland, I can't see property prices increasing in Queensland any time soon.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Brisbane Apartment Rents Fall

According to RP Data, rents for Brisbane apartments decreased by 1.5% over the past quarter.  From what I can tell, it is harder for landlords in Brisbane to find tenants, and rents are decreasing.