Showing posts with label indooroopilly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label indooroopilly. Show all posts

Sunday, June 18, 2017

REIQ Quarterly Report

The real estate agent's industry group, REIQ, released a report this week into the Queensland residential property market.  From the REIQ press release, which is always somewhat optimistic:

"THE house market has rebounded from a period of low listings with a surge of stock, in some markets as much as 100 per cent more in the March quarter, according to the REIQ’s March Quarter Queensland Market Monitor.

Looking at southeast areas where the market is performing well, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast were the two strongest performing markets in Queensland again this quarter, outperforming Brisbane (as they did last quarter).

The Sunshine Coast continues to grow and, along with the Gold Coast, these centres formed the top two most popular migration destinations for people moving within Australia in 2016.   More than 12,000 people moved to these two coastal destinations (excluding overseas immigration) last year, according to ABS data.

Noosa was the top annual median house performer with an annual growth of 9.2 per cent compared with March 2016. This has positioned Noosa as the second-most expensive house market with an annual median sale price of $615,000.

The unit market over the past 12 months has begun to show signs of easing, with the annual median unit price falling 1.9 per cent to $445,000.  However, that slight easing doesn’t represent the whole story for Brisbane’s unit and townhouse market.

There are suburbs that have done well this quarter, including Albion (up 5 per cent since December), Bulimba (up 26.8 per cent this quarter), Indooroopilly (up 18.5 per cent), New Farm (up 7.5 per cent), Rochedale (21.1 per cent), Taringa (4.8 per cent) and Toowoong (up 3.2 per cent since December).  [Editor note:  this is likely because of new apartments being sold for the first time, not price increases in existing apartments.]
  
Brisbane LGA suburbs where units have done well over 12 months and five years include:
  • ·       Annerley
  • ·       Balmoral
  • ·       Bridgeman Downs
  • ·       Coopers Plains
  • ·       Coorparoo
  • ·       Darra
  • ·       Greenslopes
  • ·       Highgate Hill
  • ·       Manly
  • ·       Manly West
  • ·       Mount Gravatt
  • ·       Norman Park
  • ·       Red Hill
  • ·       Richlands
  • ·       Rochedale
  • ·       Toowong
  • ·       Wakerley
  • ·       Wynnum

Units are becoming more popular with Queenslanders. CoreLogic has reported that 17 per cent of Queenslanders live in an apartment, just behind New South Wales’ 22 per cent and ahead of Victoria’s 15 per cent.

“The REIQ is confident the long-term future of apartments is secure and particularly in the inner-city where such exciting projects as Queen’s Wharf and the Howard Smith Wharves are adding to the night-time economy of inner Brisbane.  Added to South Bank, Milton’s Caxton Street and the Barracks, the West End, and Eat Street Markets, this is a diverse and vibrant inner-city and the demand for inner-city apartments will continue to grow over time,” Ms Mercorella from REIQ said.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Western Suburbs Brisbane Apartments

A real estate agent has issued a interesting report regarding sales of houses and apartments in the Western suburbs of Brisbane (Indooroopilly, Taringa, Toowong, St Lucia.)  The report is available here.

According to this report, the 2016 market was worse than in 2013, 2014 and 2015, based on number of sales and also on total sales prices.

For example, in Indooroopilly, in 2015 a total of $130M in apartments were sold.  In 2016, this dropped to $60M.  In Toowong, $117M in 2015, dropped to $82M in 2016.

It seems that 2016 was a good time to buy but not a good time to sell?

The report lists the top 10 apartment sales in each suburb.  With a number of new buildings reaching completion in 2017, I suspect that the top sales in 2017 will be concentrated in a few of these new buildings.  For example, Aspect Property Group's Centra in Toowong has a number of apartments above $900,000 that settled in January 2017.  All of these sales will be higher than the top Toowong apartment sale for 2016, which was $862,500.

When looking a new buildings, keep in mind this report --  you may be paying top dollar!

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Brisbane Rental Yields

The resale market for apartments in Brisbane at present is slow.  There are bargains if you are buying, and it is taking a long time to sell if you are a seller, and often the seller is disappointed with the sales price. 

At present, for apartments in Brisbane that are being sold resale (that is, not by the developer off the plan), the sales prices are decreasing.  Rents are also decreasing, as there is an oversupply.  This is a generalisation, and does not apply to all apartment types or all areas.

I have recently studied the Indooroopilly area.  The gross rental yields are good.  For reasonable quality 2 bedroom apartments, prices have dropped about 10 to 15%.  So apartment that were selling for $485K to $530K last year are now selling in the range of $425K to $500K, with most sales being about $450K to $465K.  Some vendors are selling for more than $100,000 less than what they paid.  The rents for these apartments have dropped from a range of $520 to $560 a week to $480 to $510 a week.  New developments with smaller but modern apartments are doing promotions such as 4 weeks free rent.  On an apartment that I own in Indooroopilly, I am getting a gross yield of 5.7% , where the lease was signed last week.  

Small city apartments are struggling, esp those that are rented in short term rental pools.  I have seen one apartment building in an Accor rental pool where net returns (after rates and body corporates etc) on large one bedroom furnished apartments have dropped from $13,000 a year to less than $5,000 a year. 

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Walter Taylor Bridge

An interesting article about the Walter Taylor Bridge at Indooroopilly, by a real estate agent, sent to me by a reader.
See here

Friday, December 27, 2013

El Dorado Redone

A few years ago, a South African developer tried to redevelop the El Dorado cinema site in Indooroopilly.  The developer, PCN, went bust.  Now, a new development is planned, not just for the El Dorado site, but for neighbouring sites as well.

The development that has been proposed consists of two towers, as well as a podium containing cinemas, a bowling alley and possibly an open air cinema.

The first tower is 16 storeys, with 78 residential apartments.  (These will be mostly two bedroom apartments.)

The second tower is 21 storeys, with 255 residential apartments and 70 short stay suites.  There will be 135 two bedroom apartments, with the remainder being 1 bedroom or studios.  The second tower also has a round Skybar on level 21!

There will be no three bedroom apartments.

See www.eldoradovillage.com.au


Saturday, April 27, 2013

Recent Apartment Sales in Brisbane Suburbs

Ciana Indooroopilly (all sales from original developer)
  • Apt 29, 2 bed, 2 bath, 2 cars, top floor, sold on 21 February 2013 for $555,000
  • Apt 86, 2 bed, 2 bath, 2 cars, top floor, sold on 1 February 2013 for $560,000
  • Apt 58, 3 bed, 2 bath,  top floor, sold on 1 February 2013 for $652,500
  • Apt 49, 2 bed, 2 bath, 2 cars, top floor, sold on 1 February 2013 for $450,000
Riva Indooroopilly (Pradella development)
  • Apt 5, 1 bedroom, ground floor, sold in February for $376,000 (seller had paid $245,000 in 2004)
Parklands Sherwood (Pradella development)
  • Apt 202, 2 bed, 2 bath, large study, ground floor, sold for $370,000 (seller had paid $476,000 in 2009).

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Brisbane Rents

Here is the median Brisbane rent for 2 bedroom apartments, as sourced from the RTA based upon information provided to the RTA when rental bonds are lodged or updated.  This does not distinguish between furnished and unfurnished apartments, and does not include lease renewals where the bond amount does not change.  This is for the September 2012 quarter.

Post Code 4000 (Brisbane City): $585 per week
Post Code 4005 (New Farm): $530 per week
Post Code 4007 (Hamilton): $420 per week
Post Code 4101 (South Bank/ South Brisbane): $510 per week
Post Code 4066 (Toowong): $395 per week
Post Code 4067 (St Lucia): $420 per week
Post Code 4068 (Indooroopilly/Taringa): $385 per week

There is a lot of good rental information on the RTA website at: Median Rents Quick Finder

Do not use WhatRentMyHome.  This "service" is operated by a real estate agency, and the information it provides is inaccurate and out-of-date, and is misleading.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

El Dorado Indooroopilly

With PCM, the South African property developers, going bust, the El Dorado Cinema complex at Indooroopilly has been sold.  It is not entirely clear if the new owners will develop the same type of complex - apartments, shops, offices and cinema -- on this site.  See Courier Mail

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

El Dorado Bust

Although there is still website advertising for PCN's El Dorado Village apartment development at Indooroopilly, it seems like the developer is in receivership, and the undeveloped property is for sale.  This is not a surprise.  See past posts on this issue.  Supposedly over 70 of the 100 apartments had been sold of the plan.  Either this was a lie, or the developer just could not make the project work even at PCN's crazy high off-the-plan prices.  I hope you are not waiting to move in to your new apartment at El Dorado Village!

I guess it is good-bye, not good buy, El Dorado Village.


Sunday, January 22, 2012

Indooroopilly Shopping Centre Expansion

Indooroopilly shopping centre is set for a major facelift, with a $450 million expansion receiving the green light from planning authorities. Eureka Funds Management, which manages the superannuation trust that holds a 50 per cent stake in the centre, announced today that development approval had been obtained and work had started on the 30,000 square metre addition. Construction company Brookfield Multiplex is expected the finish the work by April 2014.
Full Story Here.

In addition, apartment buildings up to 20 storeys will be allowed near Indooroopilly shopping centre and Indooroopilly train station under a draft neighbourhood plan passed by Brisbane City Council in December.
Full Story Here.

These changes will probably have a negative impact on those apartments very close to the shopping centre, such as those on upper Station Road, on Belgrave Road and on Grosvenor Road.  But for those apartments a little further away from the shopping centre, it will be a positive addition and will add further value to those apartments.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

South Brisbane and Indooroopilly

A recent report by Urbis lists South Brisbane as being "trendy" and Indooroopilly as a "prime unit location".  Bowen Hills also gets a mention as an area undergoing redevelopment.
See Article

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Finding A Great Apartment to Rent in Brisbane



Introduction


Finding a good apartment or home unit to rent in Brisbane is not easy, particularly in January and February when the demand for apartment rentals is high and many tenants are looking.


In the best buildings, the existing tenants do not often leave, and when they do move out, the apartment is often 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, and the better apartments may be provided to corporate tenants.  For the mid-quality buildings, many apartments are furnished and rented on a short term basis, sometimes even overnight.  Thus, there may be few apartments available for rent. 

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.


A newer website that has a number of rental listings is CityApartmentSales, and is used by a number of the onsite managers to list apartments for rent.  The largest number of listings are located on RealEstate.com.au, but a number of onsite managers do not use this website.  Also, try Central Apartments for rentals in Pradella buildings.

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.

This website has a list of most city apartment buildings, with useful information and links about them. Also, try this customised search engine.

Downtown Brisbane:

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).  Recently partially opened just behind these buildings is Meriton's Soleil (budget quality).

Admiralty One is good value, and has some of the largest two bedroom apartments in Brisbane, but is a smaller building.  It is direct river front - 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 than the two Admiralty buildings listed above, 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.  Great pool.

Soleil has only just opened.  It is currently the tallest building in Brisbane.  A large building with over 400 apartments, but less than half have been sold.  In late December, the Soleil website said that there were currently no apartments available for lease.
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.  About half the apartments in this building are hotel managed, so it is easy to get short term accommodation in Quay West, but difficult to find an apartment for a long term lease.  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/

M on Mary has recently been taken over by new management, so it will be interesting to see what happens in this building.  It was not high on my list previously, but that may change with the new management.

Parklands at Roma Street also has some good apartments.

SouthBank


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

Also, Saville (Mantra) at SouthBank is one of the nicest buildings if you get a river facing apartment.  The apartments are level 8 and above.  Below level 8 is a hotel.  The best thing to do here is call to find out availability.  Telephone 07 3305 2559


West End


There is likely to be some availability in some of the riverside West End apartments.  These include Waters Edge, Flow, Koko and Left Bank.


Some of the better apartments not on the river road include SL8 and Tempo.


In my view, all of the above West End apartments are too isolated.

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.

In Indooroopilly, there has been very little recent construction.  Two of the newer, quality buildings 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.  It has good onsite managers, but apartments rarely become available here.

Ciana is a larger new complex, in a central location, with many large apartments. There is a pool and gym, plus a bowls club! 

The newest complex in the Toowong / Taringa area is Fresh.  This complex has two pools, a gym and great gardens, and a large number of apartments are owned by super funds and thus are rentals.  Try here.

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).  This complex flooded in January 2010.  

St Lucia is harder to find quality -- there are few onsite managers. So you have to try local real estate agents.

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.

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.  It was badly flooded.  You can rent a high quality apartment at a reasonable price here, if you don't mind the location.