Showing posts with label flood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flood. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Another Pradella West End Development

Pradella has started marketing a new development on the large parcel of land it has accumulated in West End.  This development is being promoted as Gardens Riverside West End (although it is not river front, and has a road and the Waters Edge buildings between it and the river, and it is a long walk from the main shopping and restaurant street in West End).

There appear to be many more Pradella buildings planned for this plot of land in West End.


Thursday, February 7, 2013

River Point on Ferry and Flow

Stockwell is marketing 50 new apartments at West End, in its River Point development, called River Point on Ferry.  Prices range for $560,000 for a 1 bedroom apartment up to just under $2M.

Nearby, Pradella is marketing apartments in Waters Edge, which has been completed but still has unsold developer stock.  Apt 1606, 2 bedrooms, is listed at $619,000.  Apt 2209, 2 bedrooms, is listed at $699,000.  Apt 1111, 3 bedrooms, is $929,000.  A neighbouring development by Pradella, Flow, also has developer stock for sale.


Thursday, November 29, 2012

Flood Check

Before buying, it is worth checking the Floodcheck database and map.  See Floodcheck.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

House Prices in Queensland

The REIQ, which is the industry lobby group for real estate agents in Queensland, issued a press release today regarding Queensland house prices.  Note that this relates only to houses, and not apartments or units.  An extract from the press release:

One year on from the floods and Cyclone Yasi, the Queensland residential property market has stabilised, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).  The REIQ December quarter median house price report found property prices in South East Queensland recording mostly steady results, while the strong resources sector is driving demand and price growth in Central Queensland and the Darling Downs.
Over the December quarter, the median house price in Brisbane recorded a negligible fall of 0.2 per cent to $499,000 - the lowest fall in our capital city’s house price since September 2010.  Across Queensland, investor and first home buyer activity continues to strengthen with buyers recognising that prices have plateaued in many areas.  REIQ CEO Anton Kardash said the improving results showed that our state had begun to move on from 2011.  
‘‘Last year was a very tough one for everyone in Queensland with the series of natural disasters having a drastic impact on our economy as well as on confidence levels overall,’’ he said.  ‘‘With the first anniversary of these events now passed, it certainly appears that Queenslanders are feeling more optimistic about the future and this is starting to have a positive effect on our property market.  While it was too soon for the two interest rate reductions in November and December last year to be reflected in these results, we anticipate more positive news on our property market in the months ahead as these rate cuts flow through our wider economy.’’ 

Friday, September 30, 2011

Regulations relaxed for Tennyson Reach - then Floods

Real estate agent David Dunworth told the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry he bought a luxury unit at the Tennyson Reach complex, which adjoins the State Tennis Centre at Tennyson on Brisbane's south-side, without doing a flood search on the property.

The unit, along with another one in the complex he was leasing, was inundated during the Brisbane floods in January this year.

After the flood, which caused major damage to his unit and destroyed furniture, art and other belongings, Mr Dunworth said he discovered his unit was more than two metres below the 1974 flood level. He also discovered regulations that required the property to be set back 20 metres had been relaxed to allow his unit complex to be built just six metres from the river.

"I think if I had known all these things we would have considered making a different decision," he said.

He said sellers should be required to provide the information up front. Mr Dunworth said he believed that since a major property developer, Mirvac, was behind the project and it had the backing of the state government and planning approval from the Brisbane City Council, all necessary precautions would have been taken.

"I just assumed that the most stringent conditions were being imposed," he told the inquiry.
Source: SMH

The values at Tennyson Reach have dropped by 30% to 50%.

Monday, September 19, 2011

New Flood Maps

The Queensland Government Reconstruction Authority has recently published new interactive flood maps.  See www.qldreconstruction.org.au/maps

However, it seems that Brisbane is yet to be fully mapped.  There are some high level maps available, e.g. here and here, but from my experience in the floods, these maps show properties as flooded that did not flood.

Friday, September 2, 2011

HTW Market Update

If you purchase a flooded property, you may find yourself paying 5% to 20% discount on what similar but non flooded properties are selling for in the same suburb and without a dramatic discount in rent. ...

That said, there are some suburbs that were tarnished by the flood that offer excellent value for non-flooded stock due to the overall lack of buyer confidence. For example, st Lucia has a ready source of student renters, is close to the CbD and enjoys good local services, but its riverfront areas copped a hiding in January. As a result, the dry property (and there is plenty) has also had a downturn. not too long ago, one of our valuers had a look at a two- bedroom, three-level townhouse that sold for $400,000 and will easily see $430 per week in rent. A 5.5% gross return in this location is a very nice earner indeed. ...

General market conditions across the Gold Coast are very tight. only those properties where the vendor is willing to meet the market are selling. there is generally an oversupply of similar properties listed for sale. Feedback from locals within the property industry indicate that the market may not yet have bottomed out which is concerning potential buyers. Our opinion is that we are bumping along the bottom similar to the late 1990’s and that properties will sell within a wider value range depending on the circumstances of the vendor.<
Source: HTW Report

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Wall Street Journal Report on Australia Housing

"Locally, buyers have already started to wane. In the last year, there were 90,210 first-home buyers across Australia, 35% lower than the previous year and a seven-year low, according to BankWest, a Western Australia-based lender and unit of Commonwealth Bank.

Mr. Donnelly, whose firm has sold residential property in Australia worth more than A$1.2 billion to mostly overseas investors, says the market in Sydney and Brisbane could sidestep some of the weakness, largely because both fell behind in the recent development push.

Brisbane has also been weak, with prices off more than 6% this year, but much of the drop stems from the devastation to the capital of Queensland state earlier in the year from a series of floods."

Extract from WSJ report on decline in Australian property market

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Tennyson Reach Contract Cancelled Due to Flood

Mirvac lost a legal battle in the Queensland Court of Appeal this week, in relation to an apartment at Tennyson Reach that flooded in January. Mirvac had two senior counsel to argue this appeal - it flew up Alan Myers QC from Melbourne and also used a local Senior Counsel -- both very expensive barristers. But that did not assist. The buyer was allowed out of the contract. See Judgment and The Australian.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Flood - backflow valves

From a Brisbane City Councillor:


I have been campaigning for months (along with local residents) for Council to take action on backflow valves as a means of potentially reducing some forms of flooding. As you would know, much of the January 2011 flooding in Central Ward was the result of floodwaters travelling back up Council stormwater drains. If backflow valves are installed it is more than likely that in the future that type of flooding could be avoided. While back-flow valves are not a "silver bullet", they at least hold the prospect of reducing future floods in similar circumstances.

The Council has finally agreed to conduct an inquiry, and will be holding some information sessions in September for residents of New Farm and the CBD.

While the dates haven't been set yet, if you want to attend these sessions apparently you have to register. So, I encourage anyone who has an interest to register online. You will be notified when session details are available.

Regards

David Hinchliffe

Councillor for Central Ward

Brisbane City Council

Phone: 07 3403 0254

Fax: 07 3403 0256

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Tennyson Reach Write Down

"LEADING property developer Mirvac Group has written down the value of a flood-damaged development, Tennyson Reach in Brisbane, by $80.8 million.

The latest writedown, which the company previously foreshadowed, brings the total in the group's residential land assets to $295m this year.

Mirvac said that since the January floods, the Tennyson residential market had limited transactions and pricing had been affected by uncertainties created by the pending results of the Queensland flood inquiries.

The group revalued the carrying value of Tennyson Reach, including 43 unsold apartments and the remaining undeveloped land.

"This has led to a provision of $80.8m, resulting in zero value as at May 31, 2011," the company said in an ASX announcement."

The Australian

See also Courier Mail

This is not a surprise. This development was not in a great location, and there are very few facilities for residents in the area. The development had bombed well prior to the flood -- the flood was the last blow for a dog of a project.


Saturday, June 4, 2011

Admiralty Two - Doing Well

The Courier Mail reports today that a 3 bedroom apartment in Admiralty Towers Two (Apt 180 on level 32 in the "high rise" section of the building at the Storey Bridge end) was sold for $1.05M. Despite getting water in the basement carparks during the floods, the prices in this prestige riverfront building are holding firm. The body corporate of this building is reportedly installing special plates to stop river water entering the basement through air vents (similar those in Admiralty Quays nearby that did not flood.)

Another 3 bedroom, Apt 119, also sold recently for $1.08 million.

There is a 3 bedroom on the city end on level 30 listed for sale at $1.15M (Apt 166).

There is also a large 116 sqm two bedroom on level 12 for sale in Admiralty Towers Two (Apt 70) for $860,000.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Most Popular Posts

One of the most popular posts in recent times has been a short note about Alex Perry Residential. The post is here. I suspect that the developers would be thrilled about the interest this development is generating.

The three most popular posts of all time are (1) a post from May 2008 about the then proposed Soleil Tower from Meriton, and (2) a short post from May 2010 about flood maps, and (3) a post from January 2011 about the Brisbane floods.

This month, this blog passes 200,000 all time page views. Thank you readers for your support and comments.


Saturday, May 21, 2011

New Flood Maps

The Brisbane City Council has released new interim flood level maps. In some places, they are not completely accurate (and so list non-flooded properties as flooding).

See Maps

It looks like banks may make it hard to get loans for properties shown as flooded on the map. See story here.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Brisbane Not Cataclysmic After Floods

Brisbane house prices are the lowest of any mainland capital with January's floods and a struggling state economy blamed for a 2 per cent fall in the median price over the March quarter. But analysts believe the fall is a good result compared with "cataclysmic" predictions for the city's property market in the aftermath of the natural disaster.


According to Australian Property Monitors' March Quarterly House Price Report, the Queensland capital overtook Adelaide as the most affordable mainland city with the median house price standing at $448,669, a 4.3 per cent annual drop. Brisbane unit prices remained the second cheapest in the country at $354,089, well ahead of Adelaide ($296,939).


Andrew Wilson, a senior economist from Australian Property Monitors, said the fall in median house prices from a mark of $457,889 in the December quarter was only marginal compared to some analysts' post-flood predictions.


Dr Wilson said declines of up to 15 per cent and 20 per cent for the city had been predicted.

"There were suggestions people would be reluctant to live in areas which were subject to that sort of extreme climate outcome in the future," Dr Wilson said.


"History does show us that people are very resilient, they are very attached to their neighbourhoods and governments take action to mitigate against this happening again.

"I think a two per cent fall over the quarter is a very good result considering that it will be the main hit that we get from the floods."


Dr Wilson said Brisbane had suffered from a buyer hesitancy in recent years, reflective of an underperforming Queensland economy reeling from the high dollar affecting tourism and some of the state's mines remaining inoperable.


He said the city's house prices had been going through an adjustment period following the city's strong price growth prior to the global financial crisis and the floods may have put off a stabilisation in prices.


Brisbane Times and SMH

Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Queensland Rental Market

Extract from REIQ press release:


'Queensland’s residential rental market has absorbed the impacts from this year’s natural disasters however demand is starting to tighten in some areas due to lower buyer activity, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ). The REIQ’s March residential rental survey has found vacancy rates have continued to tighten over the past six months as more and more buyers stay on the sidelines.


“The floods did have a temporary impact on the rental market, but the REIQ rental survey has found this was mainly confined to flood-affected areas,” REIQ chairman Pamela Bennett said.

“However, the rental market is starting to be affected by the subdued property market given the low number of first home buyers and investors’ means there is more demand and less supply in the rental market. This also occurred in 2008 when high interest rates deterred buyers so it is not difficult to ascertain that the current economic conditions and the rapid nature of rate rises last year are having the same effect this year.”


The REIQ March rental survey, as well as statistics released by the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA), have shown that the Brisbane rental market, while tighter, is not as dire as many anticipated.


The rental survey found vacancy rates for the Brisbane City local government area tightened in March, coming in at 1.8 per cent, down from 2.6 per cent in September last year.


RTA statistics for the start of this year largely illustrate drops in bonds lodged in suburbs directly affected by the floods, while January in general was a quieter month across the Brisbane area as many renters chose to stay put following the floods.


While median weekly rents were up significantly in some flood-affected Brisbane suburbs during January, Brisbane as a whole recorded steady rents and a drop in the total number of bonds lodged for the month.


“With reduced rental accommodation in their immediate area, many tenants and homeowners displaced by the floods had to look to other suburbs for accommodation in January and February,” Ms Bennett said. “However, REIQ agents in unaffected suburbs reported that this did not result in any significant increase in rental demand in their local areas.”


RTA statistics show that demand for three and four-bedroom houses increased following the floods, while the two-bedroom unit rental market remained relatively stable. In general, REIQ agents are now reporting that the rental market has begun to return to normal conditions.'


See also The Australian

Friday, April 8, 2011

Only Modest Gains

Australia’s housing market is likely to see only “modest” gains in prices as unusually wet weather and floods in Queensland slowed demand and first-home buyers remained on the sidelines, Moody’s Analytics said.



Saturday, March 19, 2011

Tennyson Reach - Legal Decisions

Mirvac and about 15 buyers have gone to court regarding Tennyson Reach, in a number of cases. For the most part, Mirvac has been successful in enforcing off-the-plan contracts against buyers. Here are some extracts from some of the decisions.

"As already noted, Mr Cox values the apartment at $1,500,000 and said that its value would have been $1,750,000 had the view been the equivalent of that from the display centre. " Mirvac v. Holland

"The defendant [Mirvac] is in possession of the apartment. After the flood, it removed the mud. The walls of the apartment consisted of Gyprock sheeting. The defendant removed the lower level of the Gyprock, which was flood affected. Wiring was disconnected; switches were removed and piled into a heap; appliances were disconnected. Dunworth v. Mirvac

"It is that the area of a part of the actual Lot varies by more than five per cent from the area depicted upon the drawing for that part. In this case the area of each of the balconies varies from what was shown within the original drawing by, in one case, 10.35 per cent and in the other by 15.30 per cent. Because clause 6.3(a) of the proposed (and actual) contract permitted a change up to five per cent to the “size of the Lot or any part of the Lot” it is argued that these changes made the actual Lot different from the proposed Lot as originally identified." Mirvac v. Beioley

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Riverpoint Flood Clean Up

"The building was inundated on 11th January 2011, taking out all the plant and equipment in the basement, and power to the building was cut. The pumps were inoperable and all motors were damaged. The body corporate has submitted a claim to its insurers but is not sure when or if it will be met.

The body corporate has prepared a damage report and a preliminary estimate of costs for the clean-up, hire of plant and equipment, purchases involved in the clean-up, temporary electrical power and supply, pump equipment, rubbish disposal, repairs to the electricity supply and switchboards, repairs to ducting and air-conditioning, replacement of pumps and sensors, repairs to sewer and stormwater pumps, repairs to 8 lifts and replacement of lift equipment, pool pumps, entry roller door, fire doors, painting and “miscellaneous.”

The total estimate is $551,341.35 including supervision and co-ordination of the repairs, exclusive of GST."

See decision regarding Riverpoint at West End.


Tennyson Reach Clean Up

At least four million dollars for flood clean up. See this decision.
"On 20 January 2011, Mirvac stated it will not charge any margin or for its time in relation to the rectification works. Its estimate includes prospective costs of up to $1,000,000 for priority works (completion of clean up works currently underway, preliminary electrical works to enable restoration of power and preliminary fire control equipment), and costs of $2,950,000 (including priority works) to complete clean up works, to rectify damage to ground floor lobbies, lifts and the completion of works including electrical, fire and hydraulic works."