Showing posts with label metro property development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label metro property development. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Quay West Brisbane Resales

Recent sales for Quay West in Brisbane, at 132 Alice Street
  • Apt 37, 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - 72 sqm - $456,000 in October 2014
  • Apt 134, 3 bed, 2 bath, 3 car - 172 sqm - $1,350,000 in September 2014 sold to a QC
  • Apt 68, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - 126 sqm - $695,000 in September 2014
  • Apt 43, 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - 72 sqm - $440,000 in August 2014
  • Apt 47,  1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - 72 sqm - $440,000 in July 2014
Rumour has it that Ken Woodley, who lives in this building, recently purchased a 1 bedroom apartment (402) in Quay West for himself or a family member, at $435,000.  Mr Woodley is an owner and managing director of developer Metro Property Group.  I wonder why Mr Woodley is not purchasing in a Metro building, but is buy an older apartment in a Mirvac building?  Does that tell you something about the market?

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Kangaroo Point new apartment developments

If you want to buy an apartment off-the-plan at Kangaroo Point,  there are many options at present:

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Rents at Madison Heights, Bowen Hills

Madison Heights at Bowen Hills has completed, and apartments are available for rent.  For a 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment,  the listed rent is $445 (with 4 weeks free - so really the rent is $410 a week).  Some are even less.  Under the NRAS scheme, the listed rent for a 2 bedroom is $389 per week.

The building has 308 apartments, with 174 under the NRAS low income rental affordability scheme, which offers apartments for 70% of the market rent (so a two bedroom under this scheme should be $287 a week based on the REA listing quoted above.)  Most of the apartments are 1 bedrooms -- in fact, 228 or about 75% of the apartments in the building are one bedroom apartments with a typical size of 51 sqm internal.

Apt 2901, 2 bedrooms, is for sale for $715,000, which appears to be outrageously expensive.
This two bedroom is $547,000.  67 sqm internal. Crazy!
A one bedroom is for sale for $485,000 -- not a bargain!

Here are some photos of the views from Madison Heights apartments.  The entry to the Airport Link tunnel cannot be seen from these photos, but is just to the right:




Friday, January 24, 2014

Interstate Property Buyers

The AFR had a story on page 3 on Wednesday this week: "Interstate property buyers see value in northern exposure."  Some extracts:
  • Investors from Sydney and Melbourne are flocking to Brisbane's apartment market seeking better value for money after being pushed out of increasingly expensive southern cities.
  • Brisbane developer Silverstone Developments reports that 72% of off-the-plan sales in its Vertice project at Dutton Park were sold in interstate buyers.
  • Other developers are all reporting surging interest from interstate buyers.
  • Mirvac's chief executive for residential said there was an upswing in sales of quality Brisbane properties to interstate investors due to the low rental vacancy rates and increasing rental yields in prime locations across Brisbane, as well as the price differential between Brisbane and those in southern states.
  • Since 2007, the gap in prices between Brisbane and Melbourne/Sydney has slowly opened up again.
  • Further interest in Brisbane will be contingent upon how may jobs the south-east of the state creates.
  • There is a lot more value for money in the Brisbane market, according to Metro Property Group.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Avoid Areas where Chinese Buyers are buying

"There’s only one aspect of this that’s in any way outrageous – and that is the way Australian developers and their marketers are peddling bad real estate at inflated prices to distant investors.  There’s nothing new in this. 

Developers have always targeted distant investors to, firstly, get rid of unsold dwellings for which there are no genuine local buyers – and, secondly, to go a step further and create new stock specifically to sell to distant investors, notwithstanding the local over-supply or depressed market.  In the past, the victims have been found interstate, out west or in New Zealand. Now Asia is being targeted, especially China.

Marketing teams are taking roadshows to China and using deception to induce investors there to buy highrise apartments or house and land packages in poorly-performing markets.  There’s no crisis here, but one might emerge if Australian investors follow the advice that’s starting to emerge – namely, that they should be buying where the Chinese are buying.

I would suggest Australian buyers do the opposite. Avoid like the plague any markets being pitched to the Chinese. They’re being sold product in oversupplied markets, usually at prices above true market value. They’re not markets a sensible investor would want to be in."

See article in Property Observer

Based on this advice, one would want to carefully consider buying in any Meriton or Metro Property off-the-plan development in Brisbane.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Foreign Investors

Foreign buyers snapped up one in every eight new properties built this year - up from one in 20 properties in 2011, National Australia Bank research reveals.

Australia's foreign investment rules ban foreigners from buying established homes, and developers can sell half their properties to foreign investors before they are built.

Colliers International's managing director of residential property in Australia, Peter Chittenden, yesterday said Asian buyers were purchasing 60 per cent of units being sold off-the-plan in big developments.

He said overseas buyers had snapped up two in every three of the 588 luxury apartments in the Singaporean-owned Tower Melbourne development - being constructed as the city's tallest building.

Foreign investors have bought 15 to 20 per cent of the 710 apartments being built by Pearls Australasia and Metro Property Development in three towers in the inner-Brisbane suburbs of Bowen Hills and Fortitude Valley.  Pearls Australasia executive director David Higgins said Asian buyers were more likely to buy the more expensive apartments - costing more than $600,000 - with extra space or views.

Source:  Courier Mail

"According to research from LandMark White, of the 27 apartment projects completed in the inner-city precinct between 2011 and 2012, the vast majority were rental properties.  "Anecdotal evidence reports circa 40% to 50% of these investors are Asian buyers," it reports.  "Current conditions indicate investment in the inner apartment market remains robust due to strong rental growth and tight vacancy."

Source:  Courier Mail, Saturday August 24, 2013, p.33

See also: Property Observer: Trends

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Metro Property Group - A remarkable marketing machine

Last week, Ken Woodley, marketing director of Metro Property Group, zoomed past me in his Jaguar.  He was leaving his Mirvac penthouse and heading in the direction of the Valley.  He must be super happy with the sales of Metro's off-the-plan apartments in the Valley.  As reported today in Property Observer, Metro has been hugely successful in its Valley developments.  Although they are marketed as luxury apartments, in my view, they are small, basic apartments, targeted at foreign investors who cannot buy existing apartments due to FIRB rules.

"Devine’s Metro Property Development group recorded 67 off-the-plan sales over the March quarter for Cambridge Towers, the first stage of its $450 million Central Village development in Fortitude Valley making it the top seller by some margin, according to the latest inner Brisbane apartment update from Colliers International.  Now under construction, Metro had sold 92 out of 165 units in the development as of the end of the March quarter.  In a release earlier this month, Metro said it had sold 80% of the 160 apartments in Oxford Towers, stage two of the project, with one and two bedroom apartments ranging from $275,000 to $575,000.  On completion Central Village will comprise five towers and approximately 970 apartments. The project is expected to take approximately five years to complete."

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Festival Towers lawsuit

Many owners of apartments in Festival Towers in Brisbane, and the body corporate, are suing Devine Limited and Brookfield Multiplex Constructions for a large amount of damages concerning the construction (and alleged construction defects) in Festival Towers.  Details of the lawsuit can be found here on the Supreme Court website.  I have been told that there have been special body corporate levies to partially fund the lawsuit.

Any prospective purchaser should have their lawyers study the lawsuit paperwork, including the schedule of defects, in detail.

At the time of development and construction of Festival Towers, Devine Limited was run by David Devine, with Ken Woodley as the senior person on the sales side.  Devine and Woodley are now running Metro Property Group, which is a marvellous sales machine.

Festival Towers, managed by Oaks, doesn't have the greatest feeling in my view.  Partly short term accommodation and partly foreign students (packed into small apartments, and sleeping in hallways and living rooms), and a popular place for travelling hookers, Festival Towers has always disappointed me.

In my opinion, purchasing apartments off-the-plan has risks, because you don't know the level of quality that will actually be delivered.  The sales contract is most often in the developer's favour.  In a number of circumstances, I have seen glossy brochures inferring high quality, but the product that is delivered is low quality.  For this reason, I always take that view that off-the-plan pricing should be less than current market pricing to take into account this risk.  Unfortunately, most developers are selling apartments off-the-plan at prices that are higher than you could buy an existing similar apartment -- the only difference being age.

An agent I spoke to recently who was selling off-the-plan informed me that his competition was not other new developments, but resale apartments in recently finished buildings by the same developer.  He said the price of the resale apartments was about 15% less than his almost identical new, under construction apartments.  And buying an existing apartment is way less risky than purchasing off-the-plan.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Fire at Cathedral Place

There was a fire this afternoon in an apartment on the top floor of Cathedral Place.  This building is located on the edge of Brisbane City, in the Valley. The building was developed by Devine, under the control of David Devine, now of Metro Property Group.

See http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-09/residents-trapped-in-inner-brisbane-apartment-building-blaze/4742780 and Sun Herald

In my opinion, this is a very poor quality building, with small apartments, surrounded by main roads.  I would always be extremely careful before buying or renting any apartment that was built by Devine.

Some apartments for sale in Cathedral Place:  Apt 107, Apt 21, a one bedroom.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Off-the-plan apartments and international buyers

Many apartments that are sold off-the-plan in Brisbane are marketed to buyers outside of Australia.  Examples include Meriton and Metro Property apartments.  A recent article points out the dangers of buying in such buildings:

"Overseas buyers can and often do pay too much for property because they do not fully understand the market they are entering. ...

The lesson here is developments where the sales are heavily skewed towards international buyers should set alarm bells ringing for local buyers."

See:  Hype

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Festival Towers

I visited Festival Towers recently for an open house.  The building and common facilities are looking tired, the apartment looked worn out, and there were a large crowd of tourists in the small lobby area.  The building is used as a "hotel" by Oaks.  It is a building that is popular for touring escorts.

Values are not holding up.  For example, apartment 3607, on a high floor, has 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms.  It was sold off the plan in 2006 by Devine (now running Metro Property Group) for $530,000.  It was resold in late December 2012 for $455,000.

The apartment next door, apartment 3608, sold off the plan in 2006 for $546,000.  Two beds, two bathrooms, 2 cars, 103 sqm.  It resold in early December 2012 for $485,300.

Either a good building for bargains, or a building that has long term problems, depending on your view of the world.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Charlotte Towers Sales


Let’s have a look at the four most recent sales in Charlotte Towers (as set out in government records) located at 128 Charlotte Street in Brisbane:
  • Apt 4403 - a very good two bedroom apartment, purchased August 2005 from the developer for $585,000, resold October 2012 for $560,000
  • Apt 3010 - purchased October 2004 from the developer for $380,000, resold October 2012 for $365,000 to well known Brisbane property investor Sarina Russo
  • Apt 3705 - purchased September 2004 from the developer for $374,000, resold October 2012 for $350,000
  • Apt 3007 - purchased from the developer in May 2006 for $533,000, resold February 2009 for $485,000, resold again in September 2012 for $497,000
As can be seen from the above, every purchaser from Devine who purchased off the plan has lost money.  The losses are greater than those shown above once stamp duty and agent's selling fees are taken into account.
Charlotte Towers was developed by Devine, at that time run by David Devine and Ken Woodley, who now run the Metro Property Group.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

The Chelsea - an analysis

Matusik has done a very interesting analysis of The Chelsea development in Bowen Hills, that recently completed.  It is worth studying this analysis.  See The Chelsea.

Some points from the Matusik study:

  • More than half the sales were "rebated sales", making it hard to determine the actual sales price.  Most rebates were given early in the sales process.
  • It took about 2 years to sell the 177 apartments in the complex.
  • Only six apartments have been purchased by owner occupiers.  This is a very low percentage.  (My rule is to purchase only in buildings where there is a high percentage of owner residents in the building.)
  • 70% of the buyers appear to be Chinese, either from the Sunnybank area, Southern States, Singapore or elsewhere.
  • A number of apartments are now listed for resale, at about 10% below the recorded purchase price (before any rebates are taken into account).
"Too often the last dwellings in a new project are discounted [by the developer].  This undermines the project’s overall value; is very unfair to those who bought early in the piece (regardless of what incentives were offered) and also reduces the developer’s profit (assuming there is any!)"

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Metro's Central Village

Metro Property Development has announced a new project with over 1,000 new apartments.  It is called Central Village and is located at 66 Brunswick Street in the Valley.    This is a busy road.   It is not the greatest location either.  Even through it is called "Central Village", according to Google, it is an 18 minute walk (1.5 km) to the Emporium Hotel (shown in the photos on the website) and 1 km to the main part of the Valley.  Neither of these would be pleasant walks.  You should try the walk before buying!

The first stage, called Cambridge Towers, has 163 apartments over 18 levels, mostly 1 bedroom apartments.

See also Brisbane Times story.


Saturday, September 22, 2012

Advertised Rents

In today's Courier Mail and on REA, the following new developments had apartments that were advertised for rent:
  • Mirvac's Park apartments at Newstead - 2 beds at $700 a week; 3 beds at $1000 a week; 1 bed furnished at $650 a week
  • Pradella's Urban Edge at Kelvin Grove - 1 bed from $345 a week; 2 beds from $485 a week
  • Metro Property's The Chelsea at Bowen Hills - 1 bed for $405 a week; or $324 via NRAS; 2 bedrooms from $510 a week

Sunday, August 12, 2012

The Plaza South Brisbane

David Devine’s Metro Property Development group has increased its commitment to the inner-Brisbane apartment market, with approval granted for an $80 million project in South Brisbane.  The 12-level development, called The Plaza, has been designed by architects Deicke Richards and is due to be built at the corner of Russell and Manning streets on a 2,270-square-metre site and will feature 168 apartments.

Off-the-plan marketing of the project will begin later this month.  It will offer a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, ranging in price from $330,000 to $575,000. The project will take the value of Metro’s approved apartment developments in Brisbane to more than $400 million.

Metro currently has 1,337 apartments under construction or approved for development in inner Brisbane and a further 950 apartments in the pipeline.

See Property Observer and Prior Post

Comment emailed to me by a reader, after this post was published:

"I came across your blog while searching for a project called The Plaza by developer Metro as you would probably know about. I was basically doing more research on the project as I may be interested in investing in it. Upon researching I found out that Aria would build one called the Vines directly in front of The Plaza which probably would have The Plaza looking to another building rather then the great city views it promises. Bascially from reading through your blog, you have given your opinion on Vines being too expensive...i agree btw."

Saturday, August 4, 2012

South Brisbane Apartments

There are two large apartment buildings currently in presales in South Brisbane.  One is Metro's The Plaza development.  The other is Pradella's Canvas.

The Plaza is 12 levels of one and two bedroom apartments, priced up to $575,000.  It is on the corner of Russell and Manning Streets.

Canvas is located on Boundary Street, and has 141 one and two bedroom apartments.  The one bedrooms start at $346,000 and the two bedrooms start at $538,000.  The one bedrooms shown on the website are small -- 44 sqm internal plus a 10 sqm balcony.  This is about the size of a hotel suite.  The two bedrooms range in size (internally) from 76 to 82 sqm.  They are lower quality apartments, with the air conditioning compressor on the balcony for example.

To get a good idea of how small these apartments will be, have a look at a prior Pradella project in South Brisbane -- Allegro.  Some details about Allegro are here, and video here.  Go and have a look before you buy off the plan, so you can see what a small apartment is like.  Apt 96 is for sale for $410,000, and it has two bedrooms.  Apt 72 is two bedrooms with city views, listed at $420,000.

Or you can buy a top quality 2 bedroom apartment today in Saville South Bank, for $500,000 to $540,000.  Saville is in a better location than The Plaza and Canvas, and is a much higher quality build than Allegro.  Apt 1115 is a two bedroom listed for sale for $529,000, and it is 85 sqm internal with a 10 sqm balcony.  I could be wrong, but this seems to me to be a much better buy than a smaller, lower quality apartment in Canvas which is more expensive, and has the added significant risk factor of buying off-the-plan.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Devine bullish about Brisbane


“We are very bullish in a market people are saying is the worst they have seen in 20 years," Devine says.
“Brisbane is in the doldrums in terms of the property market, but not in the doldrums for Metro. We know what we are doing and there are people out there who love what we are doing."

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Midwood Report - Brisbane OK

"The outlook for the new Brisbane apartments market remains healthy with supply and demand evenly matched, but the Gold Coast market continues to struggle with sales of new apartments still at post-GFC lows, according to the latest Midwood Report.

Unconditional sales of new Brisbane units increased from 74 in the November quarter 2011 to 186 in the February 2012 quarter. Stock levels have declined to 1,446 from a peak of 1,683 in May last year, which equates to two-and-a-half years’ worth of supply at current sales rates.

Investors have been spurred on by rising rental returns, with one-bedroom inner-Brisbane flats registering rental growth over the past 12 months of 9% to a median of $300 per week, with a smaller 4% increase in two-bedroom flats ($380).

The strongest-selling project was David Devine’s Metro Property Madison Heights development in Bowen Hills, which clocked up 57 sales with prices ranging from $350,000 for a one-bedroom apartment to $434,000 to $556,000 for a two-bedroom apartment. Madison Heights features 296 apartments, with 200 sold since launch of the project in March 2011. There were also 15 sales at Metro Property’s The Chelsea development also in Bowen Hills, with 190 out of 195 apartments now sold in the project. Prices range from $355,000 for a one-bedroom apartment to $546,000 for a two-bedroom apartment, and there were 20 sales recorded for Brooklyn on Brookes in Fortitude Valley, Metro’s joint development with Indian-based developer Pearls. The other strong performer was Meriton’s 81-storey Infinity Tower, currently under construction, with 34 sales recorded and prices ranging from $470,000 for a one-bedroom apartment to $650,000 for a two-bedroom unit. To date 123 out of the 287 apartments in the tower have been sold."

Full article here at Property Observer.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Kickstart coming, or not?


Comment from a reader on a prior post and newspaper story from this week:

Referring to the extract from the AFR: Qld Property Due for Kick Start:

One contributor to that article states in para 4: Quote:  “Because of the huge influx from the resources companies in the office towers, I think what is going to happen within six months is people will have to pay three months’ to six months’ rent in advance to secure an apartment,” Woodley says. “There really aren’t many being built.” Unquote.

According to and as reported in Australian Property Investor Magazine, January 2012 issue, (page 109) there were 5,957 units on the market for sale in Brisbane as of October 2011, not Queensland, BRISBANE!   

Repeat Quote: “There really aren’t many being built.” Unquote.  I find that statement very puzzling.  In excess of one thousand apartments are in current construction in some form around the Brisbane CBD 2km circle.

Resource workers all already have a home or somewhere to live and if have families, have an existing home, rented or under mortgage or owned outright.  They all know the story of their friends who invested their hard earned cash into Gold Coast Units and lost and the resource unions are already warning  their members about a repeat of this scenario of the 90’s fore-seeing harder times to come in that industry as China winds back just as the Japanese did in the early 90’s despite the upbeat talk about the mining “boom”.  And the contributor has also over-looked this: Resource workers are all on “contract labour” employed by labour hire companies, not the mining companies themselves. They have no full time job and are employed essentially by the hour only. They can be and are, dismissed with no notice or reason.  The banks will not lend to people in this employment situation.   They are not bankable in this economy.