Admiralty One - New Listings for 2 bed apartments

A few days ago, I wrote about a good 2 bed apartment for sale in Admiralty Towers Two. I have recently become aware of two large two bedroom apartments for sale in the neighbouring building, Admiralty Towers. These apartments are large -- 130 sqm for a 2 bedroom apartment -- which is larger than many three bedroom apartments being built today. Absolute river views that can never be built out. End apartments, so windows on the side (for the kitchen and bathroom). Admiralty Towers has a well run body corporate and a large sinking fund.

Two bedrooms listed for sale at $880,000.

Two bedrooms listed for sale at $840,000.

It is unusual for these kind of 2 bedrooms to be offered for sale.

Admiralty Two - New Listing

An apartment design that I consider to be a very good design, in a good building, is now listed for sale. It is a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment in Admiralty Towers Two. It is large compared to newer apartments -- 116 sqm -- and has a quality feel. (There are other 2 bed designs in this building that are smaller, so take care when doing comparisons.) Good views and good location. The building has two pools, and apartment owners on the higher floor have exclusive access to the rooftop pool and gym. The balcony is not large, but this results in more internal space. Plenty of cupboards and a separate laundry room / storage room inside the apartment. Admiralty Towers Two has no short term rentals.

This apartment is on level 28, and is listed at $850,000.

Compare this renovated apartment in River Place, listed at $875,000. River Place is a lesser quality building, with many more apartments and vacation rentals. It has a great outdoor pool, overlooking the river, and the apartments have a larger usable balcony (but with the airconditioner compressor located on the balcony!)

Admiralty One - New Listings

Admiralty One, which in my opinion, has some of the best apartment buildings in Brisbane, has two 2 bedroom apartments for sale. The best two bedroom design in AD1 is over 130 sqm, which is 30 sqm larger than the largest 2 bedroom in Skyline. This design has a separate kitchen and separate laundry room, and is on the end of the building, so that the kitchen and bathroom have windows. Also, AD1 is direct river front, the body corporate fund and sinking fund have plenty of cash, and the building prohibits short term rentals.

Two bedrooms, for sale at $900,000

Two bedrooms, for sale at $850,000

Three bedrooms, for sale at $2,500,000

Trilogy Tower - Going Ahead

Trilogy is a building that will have three parts - office, hotel and residents. APH tried to sell the office component and failed. See Brisbane's $300m Trilogy tower campaign fails from The Australian.

That article states:

APH managing director John Wilson said a funding package, led by the Bank of Scotland, was now in place for Trilogy and negotiations finalised with builder Laing O'Rourke.

"At no stage have we hesitated," he said.

A deal had been signed with a five-star hotel operator and would be announced soon.

Marketing would begin this month on the sale of the 192 one- and two-bedroom hotel apartments, which would range in price from $500,000 to $900,000.

The 110 residential apartments at the top of the tower would be priced between $1 million and $5million.

A start of work on the $700 million Trilogy -- which APH said would be taller than any other existing building in Brisbane -- would confirm the race had begun to deliver the city's next generation of super towers.

However, with funding difficult in the wake of the credit crisis, analysts believe many of the developments proposed for Brisbane will fail to materialise.

With timing now crucial, GPT Group has started work on its $500 million 111 Eagle Street tower nearby, and work is under way on Austcorp's $1 billion Vision tower.

APH has begun demolition on its site between Queen and Adelaide streets and expects to start construction next month.

Mr Wilson said special techniques would speed construction and allow delivery of the office space by May 2011.

"As far as we know we will be first to market, in terms of buildings that are about to start," Mr Wilson said.

Meanwhile, Metacap Developments -- a joint venture between Sydney-based Newell Palmer Securities and Brisbane developer Alex Jimenez -- has announced it will start construction in the new financial year on its $500 million Empire Square tower on Elizabeth Street. It secured a deal last year with five-star hotel operator Westin over the 306 hotel rooms and 104 branded apartments.

Empire Square will include about 23,500sqm of A-grade office space.

Water's Edge at West End - Now Released

Pradella's Water End development (Stage 1) at West End has been released. Pricing is aggressive.

1 bedroom (Apartment Type G - 61 sqm internal). High floors will likely have river views.
Facing South/West - $475,000 to $625,000
Facing North - $495,000 to $695,000
Most of these sold out on the first day of pre-release.

2 bedrooms

Apartment Type L - 84 sqm internal
Facing North - $665,000 to $945,000
To get a river view, I think you need to pay at least $835,000 for this style apartment.
Plans below. Click on plan to enlarge. As you can see, one bedroom really has no windows.

Apartment Type C2 - 103 sqm internal
Facing North, and close to the river but not a direct river view
$1,055,000 to $1,295,000. Not all of these will have a river view.

Apartment Type D - 113 sqm internal
Facing North, and in the centre of the complex with a pool view and some higher floors will have a river view.
$1,095,000 to $1,320,000.

There are other 2 bedroom layouts, and facing different directions.

3 bedrooms

Apartment Type C1 - 115 sqm internal
3 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom (one bedroom does not have a window - see plan below)
Facing north, but not direct riverfront and some may be too low to have river views - $1,230,000 to $1,630,000

Direct riverfront 3 bedrooms - Types A1 and A2 (159 sqm internal), facing West
$1,945,000 to $2,245,000

Skyline's River Vista

This is a photo of a 2 bedroom "I type" apartment in Skyline. This apartment is 87 sqm internal, and was sold as having Brisbane River vistas. From the photo, you can see that it has a great view of Admiralty Towers. On the right, you can see the door to the second bedroom. It is a strange shaped apartment, with bad karma. The living room (seen in the photo) is not wide enough, and the dining area is a triangle shaped alcove. The kitchen faces a blank wall.

Photos of Brisbane

Google runs an interest photos website, Picasa, that has many interesting photos of Brisbane, including apartment buildings. Some are fantastic. Here are my favourites:

http://picasaweb.google.com/maruglenn/LessonsFromBrisbane

http://picasaweb.google.com/ronstuff17/CityPics

http://picasaweb.google.com/gscottie/Brisbane07

http://picasaweb.google.com/LaurieDryburgh/BrisbaneQueenslandAustraliaMarch2007Photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/kraustin/AroundBrisbane

http://picasaweb.google.com/jwknuth/DowntownBrisbaneAustralia

http://picasaweb.google.com/ehsan.ketabi/BrisbaneAustralia

http://picasaweb.google.com/tbraisby/BrisbaneToday

http://picasaweb.google.com/wandering.outdoors/Brisbane

Riparian
http://picasaweb.google.com/fbatch/RiparianPlaza

http://picasaweb.google.com/wwwinno/BrisbaneCitycatCruise

Evolution
http://picasaweb.google.com/tbraisby/EvolutionPhotoS

Ciana
http://picasaweb.google.com/tbraisby/CianaApartments12thOctober

http://picasaweb.google.com/tbraisby/CianaApartments10thOctober

The Establishment
http://picasaweb.google.com/tbraisby/TheEstablishment

West End - New Development called Riverpoint

Riverpoint at West End in Brisbane is reporting strong off the plan sales. However, I did not like this proposed development.

Many of the apartments are tiny. Some of the 1 and 2 bedroom apartments are so small that they can't have regular doors - they need sliding doors!

Some examples (non-riverfront buildings, with no views)

Harmony - the building on the side

• Apt 2102, which is a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment. The 3rd bedroom is internal and has no windows. This apartment is only 88 sqm internal! This must be one of the smallest 3 bedroom apartments in the world. Usually, a small 2 bedroom is 85 sqm internal. For example, the 2 bedroom apartments in Metro 21 are 85 sqm; a 2 bedroom in Admiralty Two is more than 100 sqm internal. So a three bedroom the size of a small two bedroom is unbelievable!
• Apt 2208 and 2308 - 1 bedroom, 50 sqm internal (plus 22 external), for $399,000. Compare this to a hotel room! A one bedroom in Quay West, overlooking the Botanical Gardens and with river views, is about 78 sqm including the balcony, and sells for $420,000 to $450,000 fully furnished.
• Apt 2305, 2 beds 1 bath on level 3, is only 66 sqm internal, and is listed for sale at $550,000.
• Apt 2203, level 2, 86m2 in total (including balcony). The second bedroom looks too small to hold a double bed.

Mosaic - the building at the back

• Apts 7210/7212/7311 are 2 bed 2 bathrooms on levels 2 and 3-- but are only 80 or 81 sqm internal, and face the back street. No river views at all. Prices on the list that I have from August 2007 range from $610,000 to $645,000.
• Apt 7202, level 2, which have 2 beds and 1 bath, are only 66 sqm internal. The second bedroom is an internal room with no windows, so I am amazed they call this a bedroom. Sliding doors to get into the bedroom, because I guess that a regular door would hit the bed if you opened it.

With other apartments in the complex selling for more than $2 million, I would be worried if I purchased on of these that I will be surrounded by apartments that are so small that they could be slums.

By comparison, a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom riverfront Mirvac apartment at Tennyson Reach will average about 200 sqm and cost between $1.3M and $1.7M. A larger two bedroom in Admiralty Two, on the river and in the city, with great views, is around $700,000 today. A two bedroom two bath at Indooroopilly or Toowong, with no views, off the plan for 85 sqm internal is around $500,000 today.