Admiralty Precinct

Colin Walsh from Ray White CBD Residential is mailing out an interesting report of sales in the Admiralty precinct. He calls it his 2010 mid year report.

Summary of report:

Skyline - 10 sales, including Type J two bed average price at $570,000 and Type K three bed at $780,000

Riverplace - average price for Type B two bed reported at $720,000

Admiralty Quays - 3 sales: 1 bed at $590,000; 2 bed at $800,000; 3 bed at $1M.

Admiralty Towers One - 3 sales: including 1 bed at $575,000 and 2 bed at $750,000

Admiralty Towers Two - 7 sales: including 2 bed Type B for $850,000 and three bed Type F for $1,063,800.

Compared with 2009 average prices for comparable apartments, Admiralty One and Admiralty Two are the only buildings where the average price has increased across all apartment types in the first half of 2010.

Skyline

My favourite floorplan in Skyline (30 Macrossan Street) is the G2 floorplan. It is a 3 bed apartment, and most have 2 carparks. There is a big difference in views from lower floors (which have a good city street view towards the Marriott Hotel, and some river glimpses between Admiralty Quays and Admiralty One) and the higher floors, that have a river view over Admiralty One.

The downside with this apartment is that each of the 3 bedrooms will look into The Macrossan tower and the Soliel tower, both being built right next to Skyline.

Apt 401 in Skyline, which is this floorplan on one of the highest floors, is currently listed for sale for $899,000. The listing states: "This apartment has been priced for a quick sale at only $899,000+. It was independently valued at $990,000 in September 2009."

This apartment was sold off-the-plan in September 2004 for $770,000. The current owner paid $970,000 in November 2007.

The same apartment downstair, Apt 391, sold for $875,000 in October 2009, so my guess is that the independent valuer for 401 was wrong by $100,000! Also:

Apt 291 sold for $765,000 in October 2009.

Apt 281 sold for $755,000 in March 2009.

Apt 141 sold for $740,000 in February 2010.

Apt 91 sold for $707,500 in November 2009.

The developer has a number of this type of apartment still on his books, it seems.

Recent Brisbane Apartment Sales

• Admiralty Quays, Apt 164: 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 cars - $2,200,000
• Admiralty Quays, Apt 90: 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 car - $580,000
• 212 Margaret Street, Apt 47, 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $465,000
• Willahra Towers, Apt 26, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car (76m2 internal, 36m2 external. Total area 112m2; white-goods included) - $435,000
  
• Parklands 3, Apt 4073: 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $365,000
• Charlotte Towers, Apt 2305: 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $354,000
• Casino Towers, Apt 3304: 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $339,998
• River City, Apt 1005: 1 bedroom, no car, view straight into neighbouring building - $305,000

Admiralty

Photos of the Admiralty apartment precinct, on the Brisbane River. From left to right, the apartment buildings are Admiralty Towers Two, Admiralty One, Admiralty Quays and River Place. Note that Skyline and Macrossan are not river front building. Skyline is the gray building behind Admiralty One. Macrossan is still under construction behind Skyline and cannot be seen.

Finding a Good Apartment to Rent in Brisbane

Introduction

Even though the vacancy rate is increasing in Brisbane, many of the good apartments for rent are hard to find. Often, this is because the existing tenant does not leave, and when they do become available, are snapped up quickly. For the better buildings, a large percentage of the apartments are occupied by the owner, and so are not rented out. Also, onsite managers often control the rental rolls, and don't often advertise on the usual property websites (as they don't need to do so). Some have their own website. Also, onsite managers may have a relationship with executive relocation services, that are fed the better apartments.

At one time, a good specialist website for apartments was http://www.seqrents.com.au However, it seems that some buildings are not using this site anymore, or are not bothering to update their listing on this site. So, although useful, it is less useful.

The largest number of listings are located on RealEstate.com.au, but a number of onsite managers do not use this website.

You have to find out how each manager advertises his/her vacancy.

Generally, you want to avoid any buildings managed by Oaks, as they focus on short term hotel style rentals.

Also, look at the posts and links on this blog. This website has a list of most city apartment buildings, with useful information and links about them. Also, try this customized search engine.

Inner City Brisbane:

I recommend Arbour on Grey at SouthBank: http://arbour.com.au/cms/welcome.html

Also, Saville at SouthBank is one of the nicest buildings if you get a river facing apartment: http://www.seqrents.com.au/saville/index.htm. The best thing to do here is call, because the website is not updated regularly. Telephone 07 3305 2559

If you want to live downtown, then I recommend the Admiralty Precinct. This comprises three first-tier buildings (Admiralty One, Admiralty Two and Admiralty Quays), plus River Place (good location, not as good quality) and Skyline (second tier).

Admiralty One is good value, and has some of the largest two bedroom apartments in Brisbane - http://www.admiraltyone.com.au/

Admiralty Two also has good sized apartments, and the building has great facilities. http://www.admiraltytwo.com.au/

Admiralty Quays is newer, and has a great pool, but the apartments are smaller. and it is more expensive. http://www.admiraltyquays.com/

Nearby on the river in the city is River Place, that is not as good quality, but is likely to have availability as this is a large complex. Careful of Storey Bridge noise. Great views.

On Alice Street in the city, if you can get an apartment in Quay West, that is fantastic, as it has park and river views -- for long term rentals, the best agent to try is Blockside & Fergerson for this building. Half of this building is a hotel managed, so it is easy to get short term accommodation in Quay West. All apartments are privately owned. You want to get above level 7.

For an inner city downtown building, Metro 21 is one of the better quality buildings. It has only 4 apartments per floor -- and tries to be more upmarket so is better than most buildings that aim at students -- it seems to have better availability, and some of the two bedroom apartments have three bathrooms. The baloneys are large: http://www.realestate.com.au/realestate/agent/metro+21+brisbane/mlibri
and http://www.metro21apartments.com.au/

Apartments in Suburbs

The suburbs that I recommend, due to location, transport and large number of better quality apartments, are Toowong, St Lucia, Taringa, Indooroopilly and possibly Milton and Hamilton. I don't recommend Chermside.

The newest complex in the Toowong / Taringa area is Fresh. This complex has two pools, a gym and great gardens. http://www.realestate.com.au/realestate/agent/acorn+realty+taringa/nrqhzu

Next door to Fresh is Encore, which is a relatively nice complex, with good pricing (but not as nice as Fresh, and some of the apartments are small). http://www.seqrents.com.au/encore/

St Lucia is harder to find quality -- there are few onsite managers. So you have to try local real estate agents, such as Ray White (who also has listings in Fresh).

In Indooroopilly, there has been recent construction, so there are a number of new, quality buildings. My two picks are Riva and Ciana.

Riva has apartments with great river views. It is a quiet building, with a pool, and is close to the train station and Indooroopilly Shopping Centre http://www.seqrents.com.au/riva/

Ciana is a larger new complex, in a central location, with many large apartments. There is a pool and gym, plus a bowls club! http://www.ciana.com.au/

If you want an apartment complex that feels more suburban, then Parklands at Sherwood is a great choice. Many apartments have park/rural views, and there is a great pool and bbq area http://www.centralsherwood.com.au/.

Nearby is Tennyson Reach, where you can get a large new apartment on the river. This is a new complex, but (apart from river views) not a great location.

This is a list by a selling agent about various inner city buildings:
http://www.openhouserealty.com.au/html/residential/21/apartment-buildings

Admiralty Quays - 1 bedroom apartment

There is a one bedroom direct river front apartment for sale in Admiralty Quays, listed at $625,000. This is one of the best buildings in Brisbane City, but that is a steep price. There are about 14 apartments in this building currently available for rent, including six furnished one bedrooms at $600 per week. (For about the same price, you can rent a two bedroom apartment with river views in Arbour on Grey at South Bank.)

Brisbane Unit Auction Results

• Breeze at Indooroopilly,41/8 Belgrave Road: 3 bed, highest bid at auction was $400,000, auctioneers bid of $780,000, passed in, now listed for $900,000
• Admiralty Quays, 144/32 Macrossan Street, Brisbane, 3 bed, sold for $1,885,000
• Skyline, 62/30 Macrossan Street, 2 bed, passed in at $563,000, now listed at $600,000
  
• Dockside Hotel, 601/44 Ferry St, Kangaroo Point, 2 bed, no bid
• Dockside Hotel, 510/44 Ferry St, Kangaroo Point, 2 bed, no bid
• MacArthur Chambers, 104/229 Queen Street, 2 bed, 2 cars, passed in at $720,000, now listed at $790,000
• 95/260 Vulture Street, South Brisbane, 2 bed, passed in at $645,000, now listed at $675,000
• Aurora, 117/420 Queen Street, 2 bed 1 bath, sold for $395,000
• 7/146 Macquarie Street, St Lucia, 2 bed 1 bath, sold for $500,000
  

Most of the above were auctioned at the Ray White Sunday Auction

Howard Smith Wharf redevelopment

The Council has issued a plan for urban renewal in the wharf area under the Story Bridge. It looks like an excellent plan, and my guess is that it will increase the value of the apartments in the Admiralty precinct. It is called the Howard Smith Wharves redevelopment.

Details here and here.

HWT Report

"If inner city apartment living is your thing, there are a couple of alternatives worth your time. For an entry level option, try a one bedder with a carpark and a sale price around the $370,000 to $390,000 mark. The car accommodation can be sold or rented separately for a healthy quick return, or retained to take advantage of further growth. If you looking for owner occupier stock, lower level units in the old Admiralty Towers complex are hard to beat. While they may not have the flash-bang impact of some of the newer high rise projects, your home looks down both stretches of the river with easy access to both the city centre and the wilds of Fortitude Valley. $700,000-odd could be well spent here."

See http://www.htw.com.au/Downloads/Files/195_September_2008_Month_in_Review.pdf

Market Forces

My theory is that if a building has too many apartments for sale at any one time, this negatively impacts the value of the apartments. First, it shows high turnover (which could mean dissatisfaction. Second, it drives the price down -- as purchasers can play each seller off. On the other hand, scarcity drives values higher.

I have tried to work out how many apartments are for sale in certain buildings as at today, looking at various sources, and this what I conclude. I did not count anything reported to be under contract. The details are probably inaccurate, but the overall picture is probably about right:

Brisbane City

• Admiralty Towers One - 0
• Admiralty Quays - 1
  
• Admiralty Towers Two - 2
• Quay West - 2
• Metro 21 - 4
  
• River Place - 5
  
• Felix - 6
  
• Casino Towers - 8
• Skyline - at least 26 (plus what the developer has not yet sold)
• Festival Towers - 32
• Charlotte Towers - at least 40 (plus what the developer has not yet sold)
• Aurora - 41
• M on Mary - more than 100

South Bank area

• Saville South Bank - 0
• Arbour on Grey - 2

A Niche Realty Newsletter reports the following regarding number of sales and median sales price over a six month period (1 May 2007 to 30 October 2007):

• • Aurora: 29 sales, medium sales price of $470,000
  • Casino Towers: 26 sales, medium sales price of $477,500
  • Felix: 13 sales, medium sales price of $440,000
  • Riverplace: 7 sales, medium sales price of $600,000
  • Admiralty Towers 2: 7 sales, medium sales price of $700,000
  • 212 Margaret: 7 sales, medium sales price of $322,000
  • Admiralty Towers: 4 sales, medium sales price of $755,000
  • Quay West: 4 sales, medium sales price of $445,000

By comparison, in the whole of Indooroopilly, there are 12 apartments/units currently listed for sale, of varying age and quality.

Two Bedroom Apartments Above $800,000 in Brisbane City

Some recent sales (all two bedrooms)

• Parklands, Apt 6042, $875,000
• Felix, Apt 377, $950,000
• Quay West, Apt 1901, $850,000
• Quay West, Apt 2006, $830,000

Some listings (all two bedrooms)

• Casino Tower Penthouse, $1,300,000
• Riparian Plaza, $2,200,000
• Quay West, Apartment 606, $800,000
• Evolution, Apartment 52 (level 5) (77sqm internal), $958,000
  
• Evolution, Apartment 166 (level 16) (89sqm internal), $868,500
  
• Evolution sub penthouse, Apartment 323, $1,640,000
• Evolution, Apartment 344, $1,740,000
  
• Evolution, $850,000
• Admiralty Towers Two, $815,000
• Admiralty Quays, $880,000
• Parklands, Pinnacle, 9th floor, $1,050,000
• Parklands, Pinnacle, 6th floor, $975,000
• Quest River Park Central, 29th floor, $1,400,000
• Grosvenor on Edward, $1,100,000

Brisbane Riverfront Apartment Sales

Admiralty Quays

2003 - 17 sales
2004 - 20 sales
2005 - 17 sales
2006 - 8 sales

Average Sale in 2003 = $617,088
Average Sale in 2005 = $509,517
Average Sale in 2006 = $1,040,625

Admiralty One

2003 - 17 sales
2004 - 12 sales
2005 - 15 sales
2006 - 12 sales

Average Sale in 2003 = $819,941
Average Sale in 2005 = $524,966
Average Sale in 2006 = $550,166

Admiralty Two

2003 - 11 sales
2004 - 22 sales
2005 - 14 sales
2006 - 14 sales

Average Sale in 2003 = $512,454
Average Sale in 2005 = $794,321
Average Sale in 2006 = $905,000

River Place

2003 - 31 sales
2004 - 46 sales
2005 - 50 sales
2006 - 41 sales

Average Sale in 2003 = $436,354
Average Sale in 2005 = $412,300
Average Sale in 2006 = $465,951

Skyline

Skyline apartments in Brisbane are nearing completion. Settlement is planned for late October or November.

Colliers PRD reports that as at the end of June 2007 quarter, 33 of the 192 apartments remain for sale.

I was told that the developer had a number of 3 bedroom apartments available for sale. All 2 bedroom apartments have been sold by the developer.

I was also told that many people purchased off the plan with the intent of reselling around settlement.

I had a tour through the building, and was mostly disappointed. I was glad that I didn't buy any apartments.

Some comments:

• J type - 78 sqm internal, 98 sqm total. This was sold as a two bedroom, but the second bedroom is fully internal, and has "windows" looking into the kitchen. It is really a one bed plus study. It has river views between Admiralty Quays and Admiralty One. It was sold off the plan in the high $500K. There have been resales at less than $600,000, and there are many of these apartments on the market for resale. Overall, these are small, darkish apartments, and in my opinion are not very nice. My opinion is that these apartments are not worth more than $500,000.
  
• I type - 87 sqm internal, 102 sqm total. Two bed, two baths, no walk-in-robe. This apartment is a triangle in shape. You enter into the kitchen, which has a strange shape, and the island bench looks at a blank wall. The kitchen is around a corner, so to speak, and is dark. The dining area is large, and the living room has limited views between Admiralty Quays and Admiralty One. Both bedrooms are at the front, with views. This could have been a good apartment, apart from the overall shape and kitchen -- which does not work. There are a number of these apartments for resale between $650,000 and $680,000. My opinion is that these apartments are not worth more than $600,000.
• G2 type - 117 sqm internal, 142 sqm in total. Three bed, two baths. This apartment has a large feeling. There is a river view from the balcony and sideways from the living room. The living/dining/kitchen have a really nice vista down Howard Street to the city. The bedrooms are at the back of the building (Arch Lane). For the moment, they have a western vista across the northern end of the downtown. This view will soon disappear with Macrossan Apartments are built right next door, probably turning these nice apartments into dark apartments. The main bedroom has an open bathroom, so from the bed you have a view of two vanity basins. The built in wardrobes are in the bathroom. So what could have been a nice apartment has a strange main bedroom/ensuite design and will soon the bedrooms will be built out by Macrossan Apartments. The developer has a number of these available from $720,000 to $885,000, and is prepare to discount them to clear. There are resales starting at $690,000. On a price per sqm basis, these are good value. But long term, it will not be good. So I would value these at $650,000.
• K type - 101 sqm internal, 120 sqm in total. This is a small three bedroom at the front on the north-eastern side. When you walk in the door, and from the back of the apartment -- wow! A great river view. But as you move forward, you notice that this apartment is really behind Admiralty Quays. The main bedroom, at the front, basically looks into the back of Admiralty Quays. The living room is set up so that from your couch, when looking at the TV, your view out the window is of Admiralty Quays and not the river. The main ensuite has the same flaws as the G2 type. The second and third bedrooms look at the back of Devine's River Place. This is a small 3 bedroom, that has little privacy and a bad feeling due to Admiralty Quays. The developer has stock left at $835,000 to $855,000. There are resales available for $800,000 and less. My view is that these apartments are worth about $750,000.
• On the high floors are some magnificent three beds plus media room. They combine, in effect, the I and J types. All three bedrooms are at the front, and they are high enough to look over the Admiralty buildings. These are magnificent apartments. Resales at about level 30 around $1,500,000.
  

The onsite rental people give this information regarding rentals:

1BRM
Unfurnished: $360.00
Furnished: $420.00

2BMR
Unfurnished: $550.00
Furnished: $650.00

3BMR
Unfurnished: $750.00
Furnished: $950.00

3BMR+MEDIA
Unfurnished: $950.00
Furnished: $1100.00

Other comments. The pool is very small, and closed in by Admiralty Quays and Skyline. The tennis court looks fine, but has no lights and cannot be used at night -- and so will not be useful for most city workers. The quality of finishes is good, but becoming standard. Nothing that you would not expect from a new city apartment building. There will be two retail stores on the ground floor.

Overall, my opinion is that this is a B grade location. It will be no different to Aurora Towers -- river views, one block back. It is not a prime position, and is surrounded on one side by buildings and soon will be surrounded on the other side. There appear to be many speculators who have bought of the plan. It suspect that they will get burnt. Owner-occupiers will be disappointed with the floor plans, and anyone below level 30 will be disappointed with the views. It is, in my opinion, misleading to call this building riverfront, and to say that it is "the only Brisbane high-rise development to boast river vistas from every single apartment" is clearly misleading, as the H and H1 apartments on the lower floors have only a tiny glimpse of the river between River Place and its car park.