Brisbane City Apartment Sales

Recent sales in November and December 2016:

Parklands

Apt 3104 - 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $590,000

Apt 3036 - 3 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $650,000

Charlotte Towers

Apt 1207 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $460,000

Apt 1502 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $490,000

Apt 1704 - 1 bed, 1 bath, 0 car - $322,500

Apt 602 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $510,000

Riparian

Apt 4301 - 3 bed, 3 bath, 2 car - $2,562,000

Admiralty Towers One

Apt 135 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $615,000

Apt 21 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $720,000

Admiralty Towers Two

Apt 29 - 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car - $1,059,000

Meriton Infinity

Apt 2907 - 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $420,000

Apt 5006 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $600,000

Apt 5406 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $580,000

Riverplace

Apt 109 - 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $516,800

Festival Towers

Apt 2905 - 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $390,000

Aurora

Apt 248 - 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $400,000

Capital gains were best for direct riverfront buildings and worst for the large apartment towers built by Devine (Charlotte Towers and Festival Towers and Aurora).  The Devine developers now run Metro.

Recent Brisbane Apartment Sales

iStay River City - 79 Albert St

Apt 1201, 1 bed, 1 bath - sold on 27 July for $335,000

Charlotte Towers - 128 Charlotte St

Apt 2404 - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 27 July for $340,000
Apt 1201 - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 18 July for $365,000
Apt 4403 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 29 May for $650,000
Apt 2803 - 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - sold on 2 May for $495,000

Skyline - 30 Macrossan St

Apt 53 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 27 July for $603,000
Apt 193 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 2 June for $618,500
Apt 31 - sold on 16 May for $750,000

M on Mary - 70 Mary St

Apt 1205 - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 2 July for $322,500
Apt 4302 - 5 bed, 3 bath, 3 car - sold on 31 May for $1.9M
Apt 1009  - 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - sold on 26 May for $365,000
Apt 506  - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 10 May for $395,000

Festival Towers - 108 Albert St

Apt 3807 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 30 June for $516,000
Apt 1503 - 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - sold on 25 June for $460,000
Apt 4007 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 10 June for $541,000
Apt 704 - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 5 June for $298,500
Apt 2610 - 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - sold on 3 June for $400,000
Apt 905 - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 2 June for $319,500
Apt 2510 - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 22 May for $350,000
Apt 2301 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 9 May for $525,000
Apt 508 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 8 May for $475,000

Felix - 26 Felix St

Apt 217 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 29 June for $580,000

Riverplace - 82 Boundary St

Apt 92 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 27 June for $645,000
Apt 147 - 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - sold on 23 June for $551,000
Apt 52 - 2 bed, 1 bath, 2 car - sold on 7 May for $650,000

Admiralty Towers One - 35 Howard St

Apt 44 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 8 June for $810,000
Apt 146, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 12 May for $585,000

Infinity - 43 Herschel St

Apt 3807 - sold on 27 May for $400,000
Apt 4303 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 26 May for $630,000
Apt 6304 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 20 May for $640,000

212 Margaret St

Apt 82 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 26 May for $555,000

Admiralty Quays - 32 Macrossan St

Apt 137 - 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 cars - sold on 12 May for $1,100,000
Apt 34 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 2 May for $850,000

Riparian - 71 Eagle St

Apt 4302 - 1 bed, 2 bath, 2 car - sold on 8 May for $1.5M

Admiralty Towers Two - 501 Queen St

Apt 166 - 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car sold on 28 April for $979,900

Aurora - 420 Queen St

Apt 301 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 26 April for $627,500

Quay West - 132 Alice St

Apt 103 - 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - sold on 24 April for $510,000

Recent Brisbane City Apartment Sales

Based on recent apartment sales in the Brisbane CBD area (resales, not off the plan), it looks like the market is strengthening.

Skyline, 30 Macrossan Street

• Apt 242, 2 bedrooms - reported sold at $725,000
• Apt 73, 2 bedrooms - reported sold at $660,000
• Apt 121, 3 bedrooms - reported sold at $715,000
• Apt 113, 2 bedrooms - reported sold at $602,000
• Apt 125, 1 bedroom - reported sold at $347,000
• Apt 173, 2 bedrooms - $588,000

M on Mary, 70 Mary Street

• Apt 2202, 1 bed plus study - no car - $362,500

Aurora, 420 Queen Street

• Apt 245, 2 bed, 1 bath - $620,000
• Apt 435, 2 bed, 1 bath - $556,000

Riparian, 71 Eagle Street

• Apt 4305, 3 bedrooms - $1,850,000

Riverplace

• Apt 215, 1 bed - $510,000
• Apt 37, 2 bed - $690,000

Casino Towers, 151 George Street

• Apt 2002, 2 bedrooms - $690,000

Top End Apartments

Some high end apartments for sale in Brisbane:

• The Refinery at New Farm, 4 bedrooms for $3.65M
• Pinnacle at Roma Street Parklands, 3 bedrooms, 291 sqm, auction
• Pinnacle at Roma Street Parklands, 3 bedrooms, 229 sqm, auction
• Hamilton Harbour, 2 bedrooms plus media room, auction
• The Grosvenor, 3 bedrooms, about $1.4M
• Riparian, 3 bedrooms, $7M.

Recent Apartment Sales in Brisbane CBD

Riparian Tower - Apt 4101 - 9 November for $3.3M after owner purchased it in June 2012 for the same price. [A reader has emailed me to say that this is incorrect.  I obtained this information from the RP Data database.  The 9 November sale information is as reported to RP Data by North South Realty.  The June 2012 sales data is from government records.]

MacArthur Chambers - 229 Queen St - Apt 205 - 1 bedroom - sold for $540,000
Apt 402 - two bedrooms - sold for $725,000

M on Mary - 70 Mary Street - Apt 2302 - 1 bedroom, no car - sold for $341,000

Festival Towers - 108 Albert Street - Apt 4105 - 2 bedrooms - sold for $452,000 (seller had paid $515,000 in 2007 off-the-plan buying from Devine).

Riverplace - 82 Boundary St - Apt 167 - 2 bedrooms - sold for $495,000

River City - 79 Albert Street - Apt 2706 - 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom - $420,000

Recent Brisbane Apartment Sales

Recent sales:

• Riparian, 71 Eagle Street, 3 bedrooms on level 44, sold for $2.3 million
• Charlotte Towers, 128 Charlotte St, Apt 1903, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, sold for $465,000 (after being on the market for some time)
• River City, 79 Albert St, Apt 2706, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, sold for $420,000
• River City, 79 Albert St, Apt 2106, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, sold for $430,000
• Admiralty Towers One, 35 Howard Street, Lot 110, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sold for $535,000
• Roma Street Parklands, Apt 6008, 3 bedrooms, sold for $1,220,000
• Riverplace, 82 Boundary Street, Apt 82, 2 bedrooms, sold for $645,000
• Casino Towers, 151 George Street, Apt 1604, 1 bedroom, sold for $347,000
• Festival Towers, 108 Albert St, Apt 3402, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, $495,000
• Aurora Towers, 420 Queen St, Apt 568, 2 bedrooms, $750,000

111 Eagle St Opening

111 Eagle Street opened last night.  It is not an apartment building, but it is next door to Riparian apartments.  Photo here.

Luxury Apartments

• New York apartment on Central Park South sold for $70 million.
• Soul Penthouse at Surfers Paradise, in final stages of completion, hoping to sell for $20M.
• Waterfront Newstead for $8,750,000
• Riparian, Brisbane City, for more than $3M

Is Median House Price Data Useful?

There are many newspaper reports that discuss rising or falling house & apartment prices by reference to the median sales price for a particular period.  For example, see this recent report from REIQ.  The median price is the middle price of all the properties sold in the defined period.  (For example, if there were 5 sales in the period, for $1, $10, $1000, $1001 and $6409, then the median is $1,000.)

If you select a different length of time to measure the median, you get a different result of course.  For example, according to REIQ, the median sales price for Brisbane apartments (all of Brisbane local government area) for January 2012 to March 2012 was $387,750.  The median for April 2011 to March 2012 was $395,000.

The median is not the average price.  (The average for the example above is $1484.)  See also here and here.

The statistics only look at the properties that were sold in the period.  If the median changes, it does not necessarily mean that the value of any particular property has changed.  For example, if in one quarter, there are many two bedroom apartments that are sold, and in the next quarter, there are mostly one bedroom apartments that are sold, then the median price is likely to decrease.  If a new off-the-plan development settles in the period, then the median is likely to increase for that period and decrease for the next period.

So how reliable are the recent REIQ statistics?  I had a look at a number of the more larger, upmarket and top end apartment buildings, and there are no or few reported sales for the relevant period (January 2012 to March 2012).  For example:

• Admiralty Towers Two - no recorded sales
• The Grosvenor - no recorded sales
• Quay West - only one sale, a 1 bedroom.
• Admiralty Quays - only one sale, a 1 bedroom
• Riparian - 1 reported sale, a 2 bedroom
• Metro 21 - 2 reported sales (1 bedroom & 2 bedroom)
• Admiralty Towers One - no sales on direct riverfront side of building
• Fresh Taringa - no sales since October 2010
• Riva Indooroopilly - no sales in more than 12 months
• For the above, there were no 3 bedroom sales at all.

It seems that the larger and more expensive apartments are not being sold.  Thus, the median price will be less than periods where there are more of these apartments that are being sold.  That the larger or more expensive apartments are not being sold could be for a number of reasons:  (A)  They may be listed for sale, but not selling because the owner does not want to or need to decrease price. (B) These buildings have more owner-occupiers, who do not sell as often.  (C) If rented, the rents are good, and so selling for a lower price makes less sense than renting out the apartment.  (D) An owner who needs to sell may decide to rent the apartment for a short period, until prices rise.  (E)  There may be no buyers at the high end of the market.

So it is hard to determine if the apartment values have fallen for the kinds of apartments that are not often sold, and if so, by how much.  Also, the median price decease for Brisbane may be because of a change in mix of the apartments that are being sold.

What Are Valuers Saying About Brisbane

A report from Herron Todd White this month, that is well worth reading. I have seen real estate agents email the positive parts of this to their mailing lists, leaving out the negatives! With that said, some extracts, but read the full report on the HTW.com.au website.

"So our broad brush call is: Over the past six to twelve months, most markets in SEQ have seen a 5% to 10% fall, or at best remained steady, depending on the sector.

The inner and near city semi prestige and prestige sectors have shown some pain. These are usually stalwart markets with little that can dampen buyer enthusiasm but there are some higher end vendors who are obviously smarting and willing to meet the market as a quickly as possible.

For example: 16 McDonald St Gordon Park – purchased Feb 2008 for $1.022M. Reported recent sale May 2011 $950,000.

It’s also worth noting that our people on the ground are reporting with regular and frightening monotony on a raft of other resales we can’t quote here. Most are showing the magic 5% to 10% fall although some are bucking the trend and dropping further.

For real hurt, look no further than the affordable investor/ first home owner market in areas such as the western corridor. This sector has taken a hit as interest rate rises put fear in the hearts of those who are borrowing on the edge. Inala and Redbank Plains are finding serious and regular falls of 20% on prices achieved twelve months to two years ago. One of our team believes we are back to the early 2007 market in some areas.

If you’re looking for something safe, your best bet right now is an inner suburb traditional cottage. Who would have thougth during the heady days of late 2007 and early 2008 you would be able to pick something up in prestige Paddington for well under $600,000 come mid 2011. This is blue chip real estate my friends, and its selling at prices not seen since early 2007.

High end units in the city have also copped a hiding. A number of resales reported in the very desirable Riparian building for example are a testament to a slow slow market. There were a few buyers who bought off the plan here and looked to have made a handsome profit on completion of this landmark building. Unfortunately for those that held on and are now desperate to sell, the bad news is that they may have lost that upside and then some. As they say, no one ever made a loss selling at a profit.

The flat line performer in the CBD (i.e. read “winner”) seems to be the well located investor end one bedders. Whilst capital growth for this stock has never been glamorous, a ready and eager supply of tenants mostly in the form of overseas students means these properties have been relatively painless in the downswing.

Mid ring property has been having its ups and downs. Family homes here had, until recently, been fairly solid but a few recent sales are now showing buyers are less enthusiastic. Finally, large scale outer suburb projects are also on the wane. Two recent examples from north lakes in Brisbane’s north include:

1 Willandra Pde - Sold in May 2010 for $575,000. now under contract but not unconditional at the time of writing for $530,000. Interestingly the owners also put in a 36 sqm Bali Hut and timber deck since their original purchase.

20 Forrestal Cct - Sold in Feb 2009 for $780k, only to be resold April 2011 for $708k. A very nice house according to our man on the scene.

I know, I know, it all reads doom and gloom and it can be too easy to blame the examples on the conservative valuers peddling bad news, but this just isn’t the case. Our city has had a pretty good run in the property game since 2001 but the soft times are well and truly upon us. While some of our valuers are reporting a trickle of first home buyers back into the market, a serious trend has not yet emerged. On the plus side, our property market is presenting some seriously good opportunities for the cashed up buyer so Brisbane is well worth a look."

Riparian Update

A three bedroom apartment in Riparian (4801/71 Eagle Street) on level 48 recently sold for $2 million. This is a 314 sqm apartment. It was listed last year for sale at $3.4 million. (The current owner paid just over $1.6 million in 2002.)

The three bedroom apartment next door (Apt 4802) is currently for sale. It has been listed with agents for $3.8 million. Noel Robinson, the architect, paid just over $1.8 million in 2002.

Downstairs, a two bedroom apartment (4702/71 Eagle Street) is listed for auction. See video. This property sold in 2001 for just over $1 million, in 2006 for $1.6 million, and has been on the market for a year. In September, it was listed at $1.6 million, but today's advertising says "disregard all previous pricing.... must be sold."

Apt 4804, with 3 bedrooms, sold in December last year for $2,350,000.

How Many Apartments for Sale in Brisbane?

There has been some press recently about the number of apartments for sale in Queensland, and the slow sales rate. This may be the case for the Gold Coast, and for overpriced off-the-plan developments. But if you look at the quality buildings in Brisbane, there are very few apartments for sale.

For example:

• Quay West: 4 apartments for sale (two 2 beds; two 1 beds).
• Admiralty Quays: two 2 beds
• Admiralty Towers: one 2 bed at rear
• Admiralty Two: one 2 bed; one three bed
• Arbour on Grey: 2 apartments for sale (one 2 bed; one 3 bed).
• Saville SouthBank: zero

Across these buildings, that is less than 2% of the total apartments in these buildings for sale.

Some buildings have a large number of apartments for sale: Skyline, Aurora, Macrossan, & Riparian all have a number of apartments for sale. Strangely, The Grosvenor, which usually has no apartments for sale, has about 3 for sale at present.

So there may be an oversupply in some areas and for some buildings, but for the quality buildings, there are not that many available to purchase, particularly below the $900,000 price point. And the flooding of Brisbane does not appear to have impacted pricing of these apartments at all.

More Losses

Mirvac's Tennyson Reach: Apt 3302 is listed for sale at "half price". This is a three bedroom riverfront apartment (on a low floor). Approximately 150sqm. Listed for sale for $865,000 (a huge loss for the current owner).

Riparian, Apt 4504 at 71 Eagle Street. Sold by Mikki Finlay for $1,286,000 at auction last week. 2 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, 186 sqm. Last sold in March 2006 for $1,575,000. Good job Mikki, you only sold at a capital lost of $289,000 plus stamp duty. Hope you didn't charge commission?! Maybe sellers would do better listing on eBay?

Riparian

There are a number of apartments for sale in Riparian (71 Eagle Street) at present.

• Apt 4404 - 3 bedrooms - 314sqm - receiver's auction (current owner is Nick Seirlis, a real estate agent who paid $2.9M in September 2005)
• Apt 4504 - 2 bedrooms (last sale - $1.5M in 2006)
• Apt 4702 - 2 bedrooms (last sale - $1.6M in 2006)
• Apt 4703 - 3 bedrooms - 269sqm - receiver's auction (Nick Seirlis paid $3.2M in 2007)
• Apts 4602 & 4603 - have been joined together - 530 sqm (paid $5M in 2007)
• Apt 4803 - 3 bedrooms - 317sqm (sold for $1.9M in 2004)
• Apt 4801 - 3 bedrooms - 376sqm (sold for $1.6M off the plan in 2002)
• Apt 4802 - 3 bedrooms - Noel Robinson's apartment - he was the only person who purchased an empty shell. The AFR says he purchased the shell, and did the fitout, and is now looking for $3M. This has been on the market for some time. Another auction is planned for late October.

Last sale, Apt 4502, 2 bedrooms, sold for $2,250,000 in July 2009.

Apt 4903, a 3 bedroom, sold in early 2009 for $3M.

Apt 4101 is reported as sold for $1.4M in mid 2009.

In my opinion, the developer did a poor job on the fitout, so some of the apartments have a bad feeling.

Sales in Brisbane City

Admiralty Towers One - 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, 148 sqm, level 19, sold in March 2009 for $1,200,000

Admiralty Towers Two - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car, 106 sqm, level 14 - sold in March 2009 for $725,000

Quay West - 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 1 car - 75sqm, level 4 - sold in April 2009 for $450,000

Riparian - 2 bed, 2 bath, level 41 - sold at auction for $1,400,000

Grosvenor - 3 bedrooms sold at auction for $1,535,000 on 3 July

Riparian Plaza For Sale

There are four apartments for sale on the one floor in Riparian -- for about $15 million total. Thus, you can buy the whole floor, and have 12 bedrooms and 14 carparks!

Riparian Plaza Resales

"BRISBANE: Unit prices in an an exclusive city residential tower continue to soar in the face of economic crisis, and cashed-up investors are lining up for a piece of the action.

The Riparian Plaza in Eagle St houses three of the inner-city’s most expensive residential properties sold last year, and their values were up 27 per cent compared to similar properties sold at the same time in 2007."

See City News

Example Rents in Brisbane City

New Buildings - Furnished

1 bed, no car - M on Mary - $500 per week
2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - Evolution - $900 per week
2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - Skyline - $1,300 per week
3 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - Skyline - $900 per week
3 bed, 2 bath, 3 cars - Riparian - $2200 per week

Other Buildings - Furnished

2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - Admiralty Towers - $680 per week
2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - Saville South Bank - $740 per week

New Buildings - Unfurnished

2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - Evolution - $650 per week
2 bed, 2 bath, no car - Aurora - $660 per week
3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car - Skyline - $1500 per week
3 bed, 2 bath, 3 car - Riparian - $1850 per week

Other Buildings - Unfurnished

2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - Admiralty Two - $580 per week
2 bed, 3 bath, 1 car - Metro 21 - $575 per week

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

Interesting Apartments for Sale In Brisbane

Riparian: 3 bedroom with great river views, high quality building: listed at $3,300,000

Admiralty One: 3 bedrooms on high floor, great river views, high quality building: listed at $2,500,000

River Place Villa, 3 bedrooms, listed at $2,100,000

River Place, 3 bedrooms, listed at $2,000,000

Admiralty Two, 3 bedrooms, high quality building listed at $1,300,000

River Place, 2 bedrooms, renovated with new kitchen: listed at $900,000

River Place, 2 bedrooms: listed at $690,000

Quay West: large 1 bedroom over looking the Botanical Gardens, high quality building: listed at $550,000

All the above have "never to be built out" views.

Also, Aurora: 2 bedrooms, corner, high floor, but may be impacted by Trilogy: listed at $749,000

I will be interested to see what these apartments actually sell for.