Showing posts with label Milton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Milton. Show all posts

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Has the Brisbane new apartment crash started?

On 10 March, the AFR reported that there will be a "very messy end" to the apartment boom.  See AFR story here.  It says:

""In Melbourne the oversupply will be significant, in Brisbane it will be worse. It is an accident waiting to happen," said BIS-Shrapnel managing director Robert Mellor at the group's six-monthly Building Forecasting Conference."

Has the end already started?

Let's look at a recent apartment project in Brisbane, that recently completed -- The Milton at 55 Railway Terrace, Milton.  Some examples of the disaster there:
  • Apartment 1302 is listed for sale for 10% below in the initial price, at $365,000.  For a one bedroom apartment, looking West, which has a 55 sqm internal floor space, and a main bedroom that is only 3m by 3m, and no car space, $365,000 is expensive.  Rent is estimated by the selling agent to be $450 to $460 per week unfurnished, which seems to be optimistic.
  • Apartment 2901 - one bedroom, is not even listed at a price -- "make an offer"
  • Apartment 2709, which is four bedrooms, if it sells at all, will sell for a huge amount less than the current owner has paid
  • Apartment 2005 is listed at $1.1M, which is very high for a 3 bedroom apartment in Brisbane that is only 123 sqm -- you can buy luxury two bedroom apartments elsewhere that are this size and at a lower price, and it only has a narrow tandem carpark
  • Apartment 2311, is not listed with a price
  • Apt 2609 is two bedrooms, "bring me offers"
  • Apartment 3008, a top floor two bedroom, 91 sqm in total, is listed unpriced
  • Apartment 3009, also a top floor two bedroom, is listed for $849,000 -- are they dreaming?
  • Apartment 2511, 2 bedrooms, listed at $659,000 is said to be under offer
  • Apartment 2007, 1 bedroom, is listed at $490,000
  • Apt 502, 2 bedroom, 74 sqm internal, is listed at $499,000
  • The list goes on.
The onsite agents, Mint Residential, have a large number of apartments for rent.  And so do offsite agents.  The following are rent ranges, depending on floor, car parking etc:
  • 3 bedrooms, from $650 per week to $800 per week
  • 2 bedrooms, from $570 per week to $720 per week
  • 1 bedrooms, from $370 per week to $490 per week
  • A fully furnished two bedroom is listed at $640 per week
  • Some apartments have 4 weeks free rent, which (for example) in effect reduces the rent per week of a $500 a week apartment to $460 a week over a yearly lease.
The Milton won my award for the wildest advertising claims of 2010.  See this prior post.  In that post, I said:  "They have a sheet of paper showing investment returns for a 2 bed, 1 bath apartment listed at $650,000. The prediction is that this apartment will be worth $807,500 on completion of the project in 2013, and will be worth over $1M by 2016. The predicted rent is over $720 a week in 2013."

As can be seen from the above, this was in fact wildly inaccurate.  

The Milton has a host of problems, not simply that it was sold for prices that are way above market price.  The development is on a train line, with half the apartments looking west and close to a brewery.  The river views are distant, and will be blocked by construction of apartments in front.  Body corporate for a 2 bedroom is about $4,800 a year.  See comments in prior posts.  It is very dangerous buying off the plan in Brisbane.

Compare the above to a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 car apartment, 106 sqm, with direct river views, for $700,000.

If The Milton is representative, then we are in for a very rough ride.


Monday, September 1, 2014

The Milton

FKP's The Milton development is growing over Milton Station.  Workmen tell me you get a good view of the train line and the XXXX brewery from the apartments.  This is being marketed as a luxury development, but I wonder what residents will think when they move in.


Sunday, August 11, 2013

Milton off-the-plan apartments

There are two competing apartment developments in Milton, currently being developed.

  • The Milton, being developed by FKP, at 55 Railway Terrace.  FKP has announced recently that it will be focusing on retirement properties, rather than residential developments.
  • Westmark Milton, being developed by Lang Walker from Melbourne, at Railway Terrace between Walsh and Manning Streets.
FKP's renderings show a park across the road from its development.  What FKP does not show is any illustration with the Westmark building, that will (I suspect) block out any river or city views that residents of The Milton may have been expecting.

Due to the railway, both buildings should have uninterrupted views of the XXXX brewery.

The Milton -- but where exactly is the green space that is shown?


Across the road is Westmark

Saturday, April 27, 2013

New Apartment Developments in Brisbane

New developments:


The above is only a partial list of new and off-the-plan apartment developments in Brisbane.  Take care when buying new and off the plan, as often the pricing is much higher than existing near-new apartments in a similar location.

It is also worth reading the following book, available on the Amazon Kindle and Apple stores.  

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Yet Another Milton Development

Following on from FKP's The Milton and Walker Corporation's neighbouring development, there is now Savior Faire Residents at 27 Manning Street.  It will have 65 apartments over 14 levels.  One and two bedroom apartments.  Seems like a lot of new apartments, but with no new facilities planned for the  neighbourhood.  The old character houses in this area are slowly being replaced by high rise.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Kings Row, Milton Development

Investa has gained approval for a property development on busy Coronation Drive in Milton, backing on to McDougal Street.  The three office buildings currently on the site will be demolished, and replaced with two residential buildings containing 293 apartments and two office buildings.  I wonder how these buildings will impact the views from FKP's The Milton project.  Details here.


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Reader's Comment - Is there a boom?

A reader's view:
There seems to be a dramatic marketing shift going on in Brisbane at present in regard to marketing of apartments and units. The advertising has shifted to promoting the merits of “investing in apartments for rental return” rather than marketing to owner-occupiers. It appears the owner-occupier buyers have all dried up, perhaps they are among the 20,000 workers slated by the State Government for redundancies?

Or are potential owner-occupiers waiting for the release onto the market of thousands of houses and flats currently owned by State and Federal Government that are soon to be placed on the market as a result of the Government push for the private sector to provide (former) public housing by offering the tax-deduction carrot being offered to owners who place rental properties into the NRAS scheme?

One only has to attend the Home Show in Brisbane to see this over-night marketing shift or take a cursory glance at this Saturday’s Courier Mail Property insert. The marketing hype seems to have abandoned the (now) non-existent new owner-occupier buyers and switched to promoting the merits of “investing in units or apartments for rental return” since clearly, the notion of capital gain is now just a pipe dream, at least for the next 5-10 years.

Accompanying press releases and advertisements say how successful the developments are (or going to be – many haven’t even started building) and advertise the numerous sales that have already been made to “investors” for fabulous rental returns. Who is buying these apartments is the question.  For example, one in Milton advertises that it has sold $90 million in pre-sales with a vacancy rate of 0.7% and a rental return of 12.4% p.a (Courier Mail Sat 21/7/2012) yet not a sod has been turned on the vacant site. Puzzling indeed.

Others are advertising rental returns of $600-$850 per week around Newstead and Bowen Hills yet a newly completed complex at Bowen Hills, just 2 minutes from the CBD has huge placards visible from the ICB offering rentals at $300 per week. Quite a difference from the advertised rentals of $600-$800 per week available to “investors” less than a kilometre away. Recent data shows around 130 apartments available for lease or sale in the Teneriffe and Newstead area. So while alleged hundreds of units are being “snapped up” by savvy investors cashing in on the “rental boom” (remember the mining boom?) around Brisbane, a number of large unit and/or apartment complexes have been abandoned before they even turned a sod. Puzzling indeed?   Yet the marketers claim buyers are scrambling to line up and buy off the plan? More puzzling.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Another Milton Development

Walker Corporation announced it had bought land in Brisbane's inner west to embark on a new a $100 million-plus development with shops and 243 apartments across two towers, 12- and 20-storeys high.

Walker Corp has bought for a new mixed-use project at Milton in Brisbane was sold by Mominvest C, a company owned by Sydney-based John Hayson. The 3240sq m property fronting Milton Railway Station on Railway Terrace is an amalgamation of eight housing lots, with development approval for 243 apartments and shops.

Walker Corp plans to build one- and two-bedroom apartments priced between $420,000 and $550,000 within the traditionally industrial and low-density residential area where the Lion Nathan Brewery is also located. "Our project will provide high-quality, yet affordable accommodation for young people, who want to live less than 2km from the CBD," Mr Walker said.

The purchase is diagonally opposite FKP's The Milton project (at one time called Union).  According to the AFR yesterday, The Milton is close to 50% pre-committed (whatever that means).  It will be interesting to see if the Walker buildings block the views from The Milton.

See The Australian and AFR

Friday, September 16, 2011

Milton


Milton has recorded the highest growth in median apartment prices of the 21 suburbs in Brisbane’s inner city, outstripping some of the city’s most prestigious areas, new research shows.

Resolution Research found apartment prices in Milton had recorded the highest median price growth in the inner city precinct over both the past decade and the last 12 month research period from 2009 to 2010.  Milton posted a median price increase of 12.3 per cent per annum over the last 10 years, with apartment prices jumping from $171,000 in 2001 to $544,000 in December 2010. 

It trumped the next best performers of East Brisbane at 11.8 per cent and Dutton Park at 10.5 per cent, and the average across the inner city precinct of 7.3 per cent.

Milton also came out on top for price growth between 2009 and 2010, with a 22.5 per cent median increase during that time, ahead of Herston at 20.8 per cent and Hamilton at 20.5 per cent, and well ahead of the average inner city growth of 7.7 per cent.

Resolution director Diana Howes said properties in the suburb were expected to continue to perform strongly, with very limited new supply on the horizon.  “The inner west, which includes Milton, is one of the most undersupplied markets in inner Brisbane,” she said.

“Currently, The Milton is the only high-density residential apartment project on the market in the inner west, and that is not likely to change, based on current approvals, until at least 2013 to 2015.

“At the same time, demand from those wanting to live in this area is strong, particularly renters looking to take advantage of the convenience of its near-CBD location and lifestyle amenities.

“Traditionally, demand for inner city apartment living has predominantly come from professional couples, those without children and lone person households, but we are increasingly seeing more young families wanting this style of home.”

Ms Howes said inner city suburbs like Milton were sought after because of their combination of proximity to the CBD, public transport and amenities like restaurants, cafes, shops and entertainment.

“Brisbane’s apartment market is once again the most affordable capital city on the east coast, ahead of Melbourne and Sydney,” said Ms Howes.  “This  is not only making Brisbane a popular choice with southern buyers looking for their next investment property, but is likely to stimulate interstate migration, particularly on the back of the vast employment opportunities on offer across Queensland.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Inner Brisbane Vacancy Rates Under Pressure

Vacancy rates in Inner Brisbane are under pressure, as population increases and a shortage of new supply sees available properties dwindle, says leading property researcher Michael Matusik. Mr Matusik, director of Matusik Property Insights, said the tight vacancy rates could be attributed to a relative lack of new development in inner Brisbane, which is experiencing a resurgence in its popularity with new residents. “Inner Brisbane is attracting an average of around 5,000 new permanent residents per annum, and that is expected to continue over the next decade, whereas in the 1990s it was losing permanent residents,” he said. “The change can be credited to a shift in demographics, with an increase in lone person households and couples without children in the precinct, who are looking for a lifestyle of convenience close to amenities and transport to the CBD.”

Inner Brisbane suburbs Milton, Paddington and Rosalie are leading the charge, with figures from the Residential Tenancies Authority showing rent in these areas have risen by about 5.6 per cent over the past 24 months.

Mr Matusik said Milton was a prime example, where vacancy rates had plunged to just 0.7 per cent, with a vacancy rate under 3 per cent considered to be undersupplied. He said about two-thirds, or 62 per cent, of households in Milton were renting, which was representative of other inner city precincts. Mr Matusik said dwindling vacancy rates were not expected to improve in the short term, with the undersupply of new stock set to continue.

“For example, Milton has recorded the second highest population growth in Inner Brisbane at 4.4 per cent per annum over the past five years, just behind Kelvin Grove, which has led to its extremely low vacancy rate,” Mr Matusik said. “It is part of the Inner West precinct, which is one of the most undersupplied markets in Brisbane.

“Just 10 per cent of the current supply of new apartments for sale in Inner Brisbane are located in the Inner West, with FKP’s The Milton the only project currently selling off the plan.”

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Milton Park

Extracts from an FKP Press Release:

Brisbane City Council’s plan to turn the old Milton Tennis Centre site into parkland is set to benefit surrounding properties, with The Milton the only major new development now on the horizon, says a leading property researcher.


Michael Matusik, director of Matusik Property Insights, said council’s plans to resume the 3.5 hectare site for suburban parkland would reduce the future supply of new apartments in the suburb by about 670, increasing the ‘scarcity value’ of stock in Milton.


Mr Matusik said, along with the reduction in supply, homes and apartments in Milton would benefit from a three to five per cent price premium generally afforded to properties within a one kilometre radius of major parkland.


“The single most common feature of any metropolitan area’s position as a desirable residential address is trees, and while buyers want to be in close proximity to the city, public transport and amenities, they still want access to green open space.


Mr Matusik said the significant reduction in future supply as a result of the development of the parkland at the old Milton Tennis Centre site would put increased demand on new and existing property in the suburb.


The 30-level The Milton, which is anticipated to begin construction this year, will feature 298 one and two bedroom apartments, most with views of the CBD or Brisbane River, along with a ground floor retail promenade and commercial office space."


My comment: The proposed park is some time off. It is located on the other side of the railway and the other side of Milton Road to that of FKP's development. So I don't think it will have much impact to people's decision to decide to rent or buy on a development near the Milton Railway Station, that has views of the brewery.


Friday, January 21, 2011

Yungaba and The Milton - Flood Issues

Yungaba is an off-the-plan development at Kangaroo Point current being built and marketed by Australand. The Australand Property Group informed the market yesterday that Yungaba would be delayed because of the floods. "That has obviously hampered progress on the project and the full impact is yet to be determined. First settlements are now expected in the first half of 2012 instead of the forecast second half of 2011".

I wonder what people will think of this project now -- I suspect sales may be a little slow for a while.

FKP said it suffered damage to its sales suite at Milton for its overpriced off-the-plan development "The Milton".

Analysts said Mirvac Group faced the risk of a slower sales rate because of the floods.

See also article in The Australian

Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Milton at Milton



FKP has opened its sales office for "The Milton", a new apartment building that FKP plans to build next to the railway line at Milton Station.

The building will feature 298 one and two bedroom apartments. There will be no three bedroom apartments. There is a pool. Shops are located on the ground level.

Compared to all recent developments for Brisbane apartments, the floor plans for the apartments in The Milton are the best that I have seen. The apartments have wide frontages, good light, storage space, and most have good sized kitchens (rather than galley kitchens). There are no internal bedrooms. The apartments are an ok size - the average size for a two bed is 92 sqm including balcony and 62 sqm for a one bed.

The downsides:
  • FKP's recent developments in Brisbane have not been great. Vue at Milton was did not turn out to be great, and many of the apartments there are still selling below the original sales price. The Albion Mill project never started. I considered the SL8 development at West End to be a disappointment.
  • The Milton is being built on a railway.
  • The Milton is located close to the XXXX brewery, and so residents will be impacted by smell, fumes and fallout from the brewery.
  • Despite the nice brochures from FKP, The Milton is located a fair distance from the river. It is not river front, and will only have distant river views. There is the strong possibility that other towers will be built between this development and the river. In my opinion, the artist's impressions being distributed by FKP are somewhat misleading.
  • There is the risk that the apartments on each end will be built out if similar apartment buildings are constructed on the neighbouring land. The Milton is not on a corner block, and this is a risk.
  • The building does not have central airconditioning. The hallways are unlikely to be airconditioned. Not all rooms in your apartment will have an airconditioning output head. So FKP selected the low quality option here.

The biggest downside to me is the price. FKP is advertising that the median (not average) price for 2 bedroom apartments is $778,049 and for one bedrooms is $430,497.

For example, the apartment listed above (N type) on about level 12 is listed for sale at $795,000 plus an extra $12,000 for the "upgrade" interior package. This is over $8,500 per sqm metre, for an average residential starter apartment -- we are not talking about a luxury building or prime location here.

A two bedroom M type on lower than level 10 will cost $785,000 plus a $10,000 upgrade package. A two bedroom K type on a similar low floor will cost $748,000 plus $10,000 upgrade package.

What is even more amazing is the printed information that FKP is giving out to potential investors. They have a sheet of paper showing investment returns for a 2 bed, 1 bath apartment listed at $650,000. The predicition is that this apartment will be worth $807,500 on completion of the project in 2013, and will be worth over $1M by 2016. The predicted rent is over $720 a week in 2013.

Take note! Investors who purchased a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment off-the-plan in Evolution (a better location, in the downtown area) over 5 years ago at over $600,000 are now having great trouble selling that same apartment for $500,000 today, and similar apartments in Felix are selling for about $450,000 today. So it is a bit rich to say that a two bed, 1 bath apartment at Milton is good value at $650,000 today, and I find it very hard to believe that it will be worth 0ver $800,000 in three years time.

Take care!!



Thursday, June 3, 2010

FKP's The Milton - in pre-release


The project is a mix of retail, commercial and residential development approved for 30 storeys above ground, at Milton Railway Station. It is approved for:
  • 303 Residential Apartments in one and two bedroom configurations from level 2 to 30.
  • First Floor Commercial.
  • Ground Floor Retail outlets and Promenade.
  • Almost every apartment has at least one Car Park.
  • One bedroom apartments with car parking start from $446,000.
  • Two bedroom apartments with car parking start from $640,000.
  • One bedroom apartments without car parking (there are only two of these available) start from $379,000.
  • Saturday, May 15, 2010

    Vue Apartments

    The Vue Apartment complex on Coronation Drive has been impacted by its bad location and road construction activity. There is construction of the Hale Street link and GoBetween Bridge nearby, and the complex is located on the corner of a busy road and a highway. It was developed by FKP, who is now pushing a new development at Milton called The Milton. Example listings in Vue:
    • Apt 1705, 2 bed with roof top terrace listed at $750,000 being sold by the original developer FKP
    • Apt 3102, 2 bed, renting at $460, listed at $430,000 (sold for $350,000 in 2006)
    • Apt 2303, 2 bed, 5th floor, listed at $470,000 (purchased off the plan for $440,000 in 2004)
    Apt 2409 sold off-the-plan by FKP in 2006 for $535,000 and was resold in February 2009 for $445,000.
    Apt 2001 sold off-the-plan for $445,000 and resold for $400,000 in October 2009.
    Apt 2008 sold off-the-plan for more than $504,000 and resold in Sept 2009 for $479,000

    Friday, February 26, 2010

    Manning Street Development by Kozmic

    Brisbane City Council has approved two major new inner-west developments, including a 20-storey tower at Milton with an environmentally friendly "green roof".

    The apartment building on Manning Street, about 200 metres from Milton station, will comprise 126 units, ranging from one to three bedrooms. The plan includes 151 car parks and 158 spaces for bicycles and may become one of the first buildings in Brisbane to house a living rooftop garden.

    There were five objections lodged against the proposal, with issues including traffic, lack of contribution to local infrastructure and concerns a 20-storey tower was too big for the local area. However, developers will be asked to contribute $3.1 million in infrastructure charges, some of which will go towards a new CityCat ferry stop in the area.


    Source: Brisbane Times

    Irresponsible Development


    Kozmic Developments brought us the Ferry Road development, Arriva, which has a great view of semi-industrial sheds. In my opinion, not the nicest development. Now, Kozmic is bringing us two apartment buildings in Manning Street, Milton -- with two houses in between. I really pity the poor home owners - how could the Council allow this!
    [Update: Reader Dan comments that the Council did not approve the second smaller tower. If so, then that is a relief.]

    Saturday, January 30, 2010

    The Milton

    FKP has received development approval from the Council for its Milton Railway Station development. This development was once called Union, and is now called "The Milton".

    The Milton will be a 31-storey, 303 residential apartment building on Railway Terrace. It will also have a number of retail lots.

    Sunday, January 17, 2010

    Proposed Milton Development on Milton Road

    More than 10 years after it was closed down and sold by Tennis Queensland, the Milton Tennis Centre, together with the adjoining Milton Bowls site, has a development application on it to create a new "Emporium" style precinct, with residential, retail and commercial facilities.

    The Seymour Group, owned by Queensland business identity Kevin Seymour, put in their application to the Brisbane City Council just before Christmas and although it is "extremely early days", the group are very excited about their plans for this famous parcel of land, according to a company spokesperson.

    "The Milton Tennis Centre site is iconic in Brisbane and it has been vacant for so long. We’ve written into the code that we’ve submitted to council that there will certainly be a reference to the original centre somewhere in the new development," the spokesperson said.

    Located at Frew Park, Milton Rd was the home of Queensland tennis from 1915. It consisted of 19 hard courts and four grass courts and hosted eight Australian Opens and 16 Davis Cup ties (including three finals). It hosted its last Davis Cup tie in 1990, the quarterfinal win over New Zealand featuring John Fitzgerald and Wally Masur.

    Lindsay Davenport won the last world tour event at Milton in 1994, after which the wooden grandstands were declared unsafe. The Milton Tennis Centre closed in 1999 when Tennis Queensland sold the property to cover more than $1 million in debts. Doncaster Holdings sold the site to Multiplex for a reported $5.9 million in April 2002. Derelict and having suffered two fires, the stadium was demolished in May 2002. It has sat deserted and derelict since then.

    It is understood the Seymour Group paid a total of $30.15 million for the tennis and the bowls sites in 2008. It currently has approval for 174 residential apartments but the Seymour Group wants to create a whole new precinct for both plots of the land, which total about 3.2 hectares.

    "We’re thinking it would be a modern version of the Emporium in the Valley," the spokeswoman said.

    Saturday, November 28, 2009

    Union at Milton

    "Thank you for your email enquiry regarding our proposed project at Milton.

    We are currently working thru the final stages of our Development approval, which we are hoping will be confirmed early December....
    In broad terms we intend to develop a modern iconic 30 storey building with multi level car parking and a wide choice of unit types i.e. 1 bedroom, 1+1 bedroom and differing design 2 bedroom apartments. There will be attractive mix of retail at ground level, a very generous entry lobby and excellent resident facilities ie pool, gymnasium, owners lounge and more."