Showing posts with label south bank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label south bank. Show all posts

Sunday, February 25, 2018

West Village in West End

The West Village development in Boundary St, West End is being heavily marketed at present.

Is this a good place to invest?  I have a number of concerns:
  • The development consists of 11 new apartment buildings, going as high as 22 storeys, with a huge number of new apartments.  It is being developed and sold in stages, with the first two buildings settling at the end of 2018.  If you buy today, not only will you be living near a construction site for years, you will be competing with new apartments as they come online over the next few years.  Hard to resell or rent in this situation.
  • In my opinion, the apartments do not appear to be high quality.  For example, in the two bedroom apartments, the second bedroom is not air-conditioned.  The air-conditioning is not a central system, but a split system with unsightly head ends on the wall.  
  • Most of the bedrooms do not have large windows -- they appear to have one tiny window, and I suspect they will be dark and feel pokey.
  • The bathrooms are small.  (None have a separate bath -- compare Saville Southbank by comparison.)
  • Most bedrooms don't have access to the balcony.  Of itself, this is not an issue, but it makes both the bedroom dark (and for the smaller apartments, the balcony will be dark and alley-like). 
  • The apartment layouts are troubling.  For example, in 1 bedroom apartments, the bathroom is a long way from the bedroom, through the kitchen.  For most two bedroom apartments, the second bedroom is too close to the main bedroom and too far from the bathroom.   
  • The prices are expensive!  For example, a one bedroom apartment is selling for $467,000 on a low floor.  This apartment is 54 sqm internal.   (The balconies are long and skinny, with an air-conditioning compressor on the balcony.  The apartment, especially the kitchen, is likely to be dark.)
  • The 3 bedrooms are being sold for more than $1.6M.  Small two bedroom apartments (only 84 sqm internal) start at $700,000!

    The design is such that you can't even put a sofa in front of the TV!

    It is worth comparing the West Village apartment with a similar recent development nearby, for example, Opera on Cordelia Street that settled about 6 months ago.  A similar size brand new one bedroom in Opera, which I feel is a better quality development is a better location, recently sold for $415,000 on a midlevel floor.  A floor plan for the Opera apartment is below.  When you compare the apartments side by side, you can see that the Opera living room space is bigger, and the design is better.  Opera even has a walk-in wardrobe and a separate laundry, plus more storage cupboards, and an island kitchen bench.  (It is also better quality, for example, deducted air conditioning.)


    So make sure you compare what is currently happening in the market, for existing apartments, before buying in a risky new off-the-plan development.

    Thursday, January 26, 2017

    Recent Southbank Sales in Brisbane

    Arbour on Grey
    180 Grey St
    3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, 191 sqm, sold for $1,165,000
    2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car, 106 sqm, sold for $740,000
    174 Grey St
    3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, 186 sqm, sold for $1,487,500
    3 bed? 128 sqm - sold for $820,000
    172 Grey St
    3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, 155 sqm, sold for $1,010,000

    Saville
    161 Grey St
    2 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, 119 sqm, sold for $920,000

    Galleria
    15 Tribune St
    2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car, 120 sqm, sold for $570,000

    Saville Southbank

    Friday, December 16, 2016

    Big Discounts to Lure Chinese

    On page 3 of the Australian Financial Review on 15 December 2016 is a story titled "Big discounts to lure Chinese unit buyers."  It says that property developers are discretely offering discounts on new apartments in Brisbane and elsewhere to Chinese buyers, in a sign that lending restrictions and oversupply are beginning to affect prices.

    Price discounts of up to 7% are being offered on Chinese property website fang.com.

    An example is given of discounts on apartments in the Brisbane One complex near South Bank.  For a two bedroom apartment of 86 sqm, there is a $40,000 discount, so that the price is now $675,000.  To me, that discounted price seems to be over-priced!

    "The market has slowed down a lot over the past six months and recently the only deals that are moving are those with big incentives."

    A real estate agent reported that a number of his clients in Shanghai had been unable to obtain finance and therefore could not settle, and so lost their deposit.

    Sunday, March 22, 2015

    Arbour on Grey - recent sales

    It is hard to find out recent sales prices for a number of South Bank apartments in Brisbane.  This is because the land is leased on a 999 year lease.

    Arbour on Grey is one of the better apartment buildings in Brisbane - developed by Mirvac about 12 years ago..  Some apartments on levels 3 and 4 have river views.  It is hard to compare apartments in this complex, because the floor plans and aspects are often very different.  There are two buildings - the north building and the south building, which are low arise, with about 6 entries in total.

    Grey St is named after Earl Grey, who once had a tea storage facility on the street.

    Some recent sales from Arbour on Grey (all two bed, two bath, 1 car park):
    • Apt 1110, 172 Grey St - level 1, north building - $660,000  (This apartment is a very large apartment looking over Grey St -- 96 sqm internal, with a 50 sqm balcony.  See www.1110arbour.com)
    • Apt 1307, 172 Grey St - level 3, north building - $735,000 (109 sqm overlook South Bank Parklands and Little Stanley Street, with river views)
    • Apt 2202, 186 Grey St - level 2, south building - $662,500 (100 sqm overlook South Bank Parklands and Little Stanley Street)
    • Apt 2218, 180 Grey St - level 2, south building - $655,000
    • Apt 2312, 182 Grey St - level 3, south building - $735,000
    There is a three bedroom apartment with a good floor plan currently for sale for $1M plus.

    Before buying elsewhere in South Brisbane, it is worth comparing what you get in Arbour on Grey.

    Sunday, August 10, 2014

    Arbour on Grey

    One of the better buildings in the South Bank / South Brisbane area is Arbour on Grey, located on Grey St and Little Stanley Street.  It was developed by Mirvac, and is a high quality complex.  It has views of South Bank, and apartments on the higher floors can see the river.  (It is only 4 floors high.)

    The two bedroom apartments are typically about 90 sqm internally, with a large balcony of about 20 sqm.  So much larger than many off-the-plan two bedroom apartments currently being marketed.

    Some recent sales:

    Apt 1307, located on level 3 - 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 car, facing the river - $735,000
    Apt 1215, located on level 2 - 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 car, facing Grey St - $620,000
    Apt 2204, located on level 2 - 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 car, facing Grey St - $467,250

    Some apartments currently for sale in the complex:

    Apt 1110, located on level 1 - 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 car, large apartment facing Grey St
    Apt 2218 - under contract
    Apt 2312 - under contract
    Apt 2214 - 3 bedroom floor-through apartment on level 2

    Saturday, November 2, 2013

    Recent Brisbane City Apartment Sales

    A list of some recent reported apartment sales in Brisbane CBD area, since June 2013.

    Admiralty One
    - Apt 93, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, direct river views, large 132 sqm - $880,000
    - Apt 125, 2 bedrooms, side river views - $600,000

    Admiralty Towers Two
    - Apt 132 - 2 bedrooms, direct river views, 116 sqm - $760,000
    - Apt 26 - 2 bedrooms, direct river views - $662,000
    - Apt 124 - 2 bedrooms, direct river views - $705,000

    Admiralty Quays
    - Apt 104 - 3 bedrooms - $960,000

    Riverplace
    - Apt 146, 1 bedroom - $370,000
    - Apt 82 - 2 bedrooms - $750,000
    - Apt 165 - 1 bedroom - $500,000
    - Apt 31 - 2 bedrooms - $650,000

    Metro 21
    - Apt 283, 1 bedroom on level 28, no carpark - $307,000
    - Apt 301, 2 bedroom on level 30 - $553,500

    Felix
    - Apt 312, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms - $555,000
    - Apt 294, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom - $485,000
    - Apt 324, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom - $475,000

    Quay West - construction starting next door, and disharmony in building
    - Apt 86, 2 bedrooms - $655,000
    - Apt 129, 3 bedrooms - $1M

    Saville South Bank - reports of two bedroom apartments selling above $900,000.

    It appears that pricing is picking up.  In some instances, apartments are selling for record highs.  In other instances, prices are still below the 2007/2008 peak.  Volumes of sales in the period June to September do not appear to be high, although in recent weeks, this may have changed.  The high end sales appear to be to owner occupiers.

    Friday, August 16, 2013

    Guaranteed Losses if you pay too much

    If you pay too much to a developer when buying off the plan, no matter how good the location, and how good the development, you will loose money.  Often, developers will show you beautiful brochures of the facilities in the location (all true) and tell you rents are higher in this location than others (again true) and that it is a popular, closely held area (true again), and then try to sell you an apartment that is 20% above market value.  If this happens, you will likely suffer a capital loss.  See this story for example about capital losses in a bullet proof area.  Investors looking at SouthPoint at SouthBank, which is a brilliant location and looks to be a quality development, should take notice of this warning, particularly when prices are more than $10,000 a square metre.

    Monday, July 22, 2013

    SouthPoint

    After delays and false starts, it now appears that SouthPoint at SouthBank is ready for a sales launch.  See this site and this site, for example.  The development is on Grey Street, opposite the Galleria and next to the train line, on what has been called the Collins Place site.

    According to sales agents, the SouthPoint building has three sections, arranged vertically.  The central section will be an Emporium Hotel, with residential apartment sections on either side (called the North and South cores).  On the rooftop will be a 25m wet edge infinity pool, a day spa with massage rooms, hairdressing and manicure options, a roof top bar and gymnasium.

    From what I have been told, in the South core, the one bedroom apartments range from $425,000 with a Southern aspect and no car parking, to $560,000 for the top level facing the river with a car park.  The one bedroom apartments are all less than 60 sqm in size.  Two bedroom apartments in the South core start at $645,000 for a lower level rear apartment facing the railway line to around $840,000 for the top level river and city view apartment.  These two bedroom apartments are all less than 80 sqm internal size, so are much smaller than similar apartments in Saville (Mantra) SouthBank.  Compare also apartments in Quay West, where one bedroom one car apartments are about 73 sqm, and sell for about $450,000 with river views and furniture.

    In the North core, there are three bedroom apartments that range between $1.7million and $3.8 million. These appear to be large apartments.

    Apartments on the rear of the building face West, looking over the train line.  There are surrounding buildings, so to get a good view, you will want to be on a higher floor.

    This development is by Anthony John Group, who is doing lower priced apartments in Cannon Hill.  Their apartments in the Valley Emporium development were not, in my opinion, high quality apartments.  It seems that SouthPoint will have three levels of finishes, so care must be taken to ensure that you understand what level of finish will apply to each apartment.


    Monday, January 21, 2013

    Two Bedroom in Park Avenue

    Is this Brisbane's most expensive two bedroom apartment?  It is in the Park Avenue building at South Bank (which is on a 99 year leasehold).  Only $1,195,000!  There are no internal photos, and it is unclear how big this apartment is, or on what floor it is located.  And there is no open for inspection.  (Is this a real listing, or a joke?!?)

    Sunday, December 30, 2012

    South Point at South Bank

    Anthony Johns Group appears to be pushing ahead with its Grey Street development at South Bank.  At one point, it seemed that Suncorp would move their headquarters there, but that fell through.  There has also been a SouthPoint website, but that now diverts to a new teaser website:  www.lastpieceofsouthbank.com

    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.

    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.

    Tuesday, July 17, 2012

    South Bank Census Data

    One area of Brisbane where there are many apartments is the South Bank area of South Brisbane.  However, there is little data available about this area because it is leasehold land.  The 2011 Census has some interesting data.  The apartments in this area include Arbour on Grey, Saville Southbank (also known as Mantra Southbank) and Urbanest student accommodation.



    • population - 804 people
    • median age - 22
    • Most people are in the 20 to 24 age group (31% of the population)
    • 91 families
    • 17% married
    • 66% have University qualifications (compared with 13.5% for Qld or 14.35 for Australia as a whole).
    • 231 dwellings in total (of which, 92% are apartments)
    • Average of 2.1 people per household
    • 66% of dwellings had 2 bedrooms
    • Median weekly household income - $1,687
    • 70% of dwellings are rented
    • Median rent - $500 per week
    • 0.9 cars per dwelling
    • Ancestry: "The most common ancestries were English 17.2%, Chinese 16.1%, Australian 11.9%, Irish 5.0% and Scottish 4.7%."
    • Country of birth: "In 3111003 (Statistical Area Level 1), 31.4% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 6.0%, Hong Kong (SAR of China) 4.9%, Singapore 4.4%, England 4.2% and Korea, Republic of (South) 4.0%."
    • 68% had both parents born outside of Australia.

    Wednesday, May 9, 2012

    Southpoint Dead?

    It is rumoured that Suncorp has pulled out of the Southpoint deal, because the developer could not get finance.
    See here and here.

    Suncorp staff were told that the developer cannot get funding, so Suncorp have withdrawn from the deal.

    Sunday, February 12, 2012

    South Bank to Expand?

    The Queensland State government plans to expand South Bank upriver, and into South Brisbane & West End.  This will involve the purchase of the Parmalat milk premises.  See story here.

    "The South Bank Corporation would oversee the expansion of the parklands precinct from 42ha to 69ha. It would include a 50m pool and aquatic play area, green space, picnic and barbecue areas, markets and a retail and dining precinct.  There would also be new commercial and residential buildings to offset the cost of public infrastructure.  Ms Bligh said one of the features of South Bank 2 would be a new cultural institution, with a national indigenous museum favoured by authorities.  She said the plan envisaged Hope St and Montague Rd becoming "vibrant destinations" similar to James St in Fortitude Valley and Little Stanley St in South Brisbane."

    It looks like a great plan.  But if the government changes at the next election, this is unlikely to go ahead because Campbell Newman said that he wants to abolish South Bank Corporation.

    Sunday, January 29, 2012

    Grey Street, South Bank

    Part of Grey Street at South Bank (South Brisbane) is getting a major and needed facelift.
    All of these improvements add value to the apartments on Grey Street (such as Saville and Arbour).

    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.

    Monday, November 28, 2011

    Suncorp Selects Southpoint as New HQ?

    There are rumours going around that Suncorp has select Southpoint at South Bank as its new headquarters.  Construction has not even started, so it will be a long way off.  (The other option Suncorp was looking at was 480 Queen St, the site of the proposed but abandoned Trilogy Tower.)  I suspect that this will add to the value of apartments in South Bank and some in South Brisbane.

    Update:  Tuesday 29 November:  Rumour confirmed as correct.

    Wednesday, August 24, 2011

    Southpoint at South Bank

    The Australian Financial Review had an article yesterday about developer Anthony Jones Group. Most of the story was about the Emporium Hotel, built on the old bus depot in The Valley. Despite its poor location in the middle of two major roads and a car park, its glitzy fitout has proved popular.

    The story mentions Anthony Jones Group's proposed development at South Bank, called Southpoint, that has been promised for a number of years now. It is said to be at 17 storey retail and office block, 458 apartments, and a 180 room Emporium hotel (that no doubt will have over the top decor too.) It was reported that early works started last year, but there has not been much happening on the site this year.

    Suncorp supposedly has short listed Southpoint for its new headquarters.