Risks with Off The Plan purchases

There are many risks with purchasing an apartment off-the-plan. These include:

• the development not actually starting, as some developers commence selling prior to obtaining development approval from the Council and many developers do not have finance prior to selling
• the development starting late and finishing later than you want (which is not good if you want to move in; but may be good if you are an investor)
• the development finishing earlier than planned (which is not good if you are not ready to move in, or if you are an investor and planned for a later settlement)
• the developer going bankrupt or running into financial difficulties during development, and so cutting corners or having another builder take over
• changes to apartment layout and size, that may be permitted by the contract
• different quality to what you expected
• different views to what you expected
• having no control over the appointment of the onsite manager and caretaker, who could be appointed under a long term contract
• body corporate fees being low for the first year (to attract purchasers) but then increasing dramatically in year two when the body corporate finds out not enough was budgeted
• paying too much for the apartment, especially if the market goes down between contract and completion, or if you are buying something "different" and so can't really determine value when you sign the contract
• not being able to obtain finance when it comes time to settle.

For these and other reasons, the purchase of an off-the-plan apartment should be at lower price than if you bought the same, completed apartment today. You are taking risks, and should get a discount for that risk. Often, however, that is not the case.

There are advantages of buying off-the-plan. You get first pick of apartments, and many of the better designs and locations sell out first. And sometimes the developer does a discount program for the first buyers.

I was reminded of all this by two readers, who sent me emails. One of the emails said:

"Thank you for your blog. You are very positive towards Pradella. I purchased in a Pradella development, and just want to point out a few issues, to give a more balanced viewpoint. First, stage one and stage two of the development are complete. Stages three and four, which can be seen from many of the apartments and the main lobby door, are just one big dirt patch with a low fence. A very ugly view. I have no idea when Pradella will complete the remainder of the development. Second, some features promised for Stage Two have been moved to Stage Three, and are not yet built -- for example, a picnic gazebo. Three, there is no enough visitor parking. This will only get worse when later stages are built. Four, Pradella own the onsite management rights, and the manager is an employee of Pradella. This creates a number of potential conflicts of interest. Five, the onsite manager is pretty hopeless as a rental agent, but Pradella does not seem to care or supervise. Six, there are two body corporates for the development (for each stage), so decision making is harder, especially in relation to defects and issues impacting all owners. Seven, Pradella has not sold all the apartments yet. This is making it difficult for people who want to resell, as they are competing with the developer, and prices have not risen much since settlement. Worse still, Pradella is renting out a number of the apartments, thus competing with the owner/investors in the rental market too. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase, and it is a great development, but I just wanted to point out that the picture is not 100% rosy."

Another reader's email described a situation in a development by Sam Vecchio at Taringa. I will not repeat the email here, as it goes for about 5 pages. It seems that the Vecchio family kept about a third of the apartments for family members and their superannuation funds. So even though the development "sold out", the developer sits on the body corporate and votes down motions. The fact that the developer was keeping apartments was not disclosed to purchasers off-the-plan. For example, it seems that most of the residents want pool furniture, but the Vecchio interests vote against this motion. There are also some issues regarding defects to common property, and failure to do the gardens as set out in the original plans and DA. So the disputes are getting messy, especially because the Vecchios can vote against motions to try to remedy the situation. Vecchio is now developing Rive Apartments near the Breakfast Creek Hotel.

Apartments for Sale in Brisbane

I looked at RealEstate.com.au to see what good apartments are for sale at present. These are quality apartments, in my view, and are relatively new. This is a good comparison when looking at off-the-plan developments and other apartments. All include car parking.

Two bedrooms

• Saville Southbank - 9th floor, river and city views, 127 sqm in total, listed at $780,000
• Quay West, 10th floor, 126 sqm, park views, just listed in the $700s with Colliers
• Parksland Sherwood, top floor, park and city views, one year old, includes separate study that could be used as third bedroom. 110 sqm in total, listed at $530,000
• Fresh Toowong, one year old, two pools, 134 sqm, listed at $555,000
• Riva Indooroopilly, river views, but only one bathroom, 90 sqm, listed at $535,000
• Ciana Indooroopilly, includes separate study that could be used as third bedroom, huge balcony, over 150sqm, listed at $649,000

Larger One bedroom in buildings about 10 years old

• Admiralty One, direct riverfront, level 12, 77 sqm listed at $600,000
• Admiralty One, side river views, listed at $449,000 or $485,000
• Quay West, 10th floor, river and park views, over 70 sqm, listed at $460,000

REIQ June 2009 Report

"Buyers are again looking to units and townhouses with sales numbers surging over the June quarter. The REIQ June quarter unit and townhouse results show sales numbers have rebounded in this segment of the market. REIQ June quarter preliminary sales numbers show that the number of sales in Brisbane were up 36 per cent; 22 per cent on the Gold Coast; 14 per cent on the Sunshine Coast; and increased a very impressive 48 and 46 in Ipswich and Logan respectively."

"“While sales numbers are up and there has been some price growth in some areas, this represents a property market in transition from the very tough conditions of the past year,” Mrs Bennett said. “These results show that outside influences are starting to no longer burden our market and that confidence is also beginning to return.”

"In Brisbane, solid performers for units and townhouses over the quarter were the inner-ring suburbs of Auchenflower, Toowong and Yeronga. Auchenflower’s median is up 11.8 per cent to $450,000 over the quarter, Toowong’s is up 12.7 per cent to $448,000, and Yeronga experienced 14.7 per cent median price growth to $393,500. Auchenflower and Yeronga also had healthy price growth over the year. Auchenflower and Toowong are both located within 5km of Brisbane’s CBD and have a mix of established and new unit complexes available. Yeronga is 7km south of the city and is in a prime position along the Brisbane River."

Brisbane City - Median Price June Qtr 09 - $351,000 - down 5.8% over one year.
Indooroopilly - Median Price June Qtr 09 - $391,500 - down 6.1% over one year.
New Farm - Median Price June Qtr 09 - $435,750 - down 15.7% over one year.
Sherwood - Median Price June Qtr 09 - $342,500 - up 2.3% over one year.
Taringa - Median Price June Qtr 09 - $398,800 - up 1.6% over one year.
Toowong - Median Price June Qtr 09 - $448,000 - down 4.6% over one year.

Finding a Good Apartment to Rent in Brisbane

Introduction

Even though the vacancy rate is increasing in Brisbane, many of the good apartments for rent are hard to find. Often, this is because the existing tenant does not leave, and when they do become available, are 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, that are fed the better apartments.

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.

The largest number of listings are located on RealEstate.com.au, but a number of onsite managers do not use this website.

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.

Also, look at the posts and links on this blog. This website has a list of most city apartment buildings, with useful information and links about them. Also, try this customized search engine.

Inner City Brisbane:

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

Also, Saville at SouthBank is one of the nicest buildings if you get a river facing apartment: http://www.seqrents.com.au/saville/index.htm. The best thing to do here is call, because the website is not updated regularly. Telephone 07 3305 2559

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).

Admiralty One is good value, and has some of the largest two bedroom apartments in Brisbane - 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. 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.

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 -- for long term rentals, the best agent to try is Blockside & Fergerson for this building. Half of this building is a hotel managed, so it is easy to get short term accommodation in Quay West. 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/

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.

The newest complex in the Toowong / Taringa area is Fresh. This complex has two pools, a gym and great gardens. http://www.realestate.com.au/realestate/agent/acorn+realty+taringa/nrqhzu

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). http://www.seqrents.com.au/encore/

St Lucia is harder to find quality -- there are few onsite managers. So you have to try local real estate agents, such as Ray White (who also has listings in Fresh).

In Indooroopilly, there has been recent construction, so there are a number of new, quality buildings. My two picks are 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 http://www.seqrents.com.au/riva/

Ciana is a larger new complex, in a central location, with many large apartments. There is a pool and gym, plus a bowls club! http://www.ciana.com.au/

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 http://www.centralsherwood.com.au/.

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.

This is a list by a selling agent about various inner city buildings:
http://www.openhouserealty.com.au/html/residential/21/apartment-buildings

Recent Sales

1/20 Anthony Street, West End - Tempo Terrace House - 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, 2 floors - $740,000

8/53 Whitmore St, Taringa - 3 bedrooms - $500,000

603/347 Ann Street - Lexicon - 1 bed, no car, $320,000

206/229 Queen Street - MacArthur Chambers - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car, 82sqm - $520,000

Brisbane School Districts

When purchasing in Brisbane, it is good to know the school catchment areas. As time goes on, more schools will be subject to a school management plan. Thus, like the USA, property values will be impacted depending on whether the apartment or house you buy is in a good or average school area. Each school has a defined catchment area. The map shows the catchment area for Indooroopilly State High, which is gaining reputation as the best high school in Brisbane -- click on the map to see a larger version.

Western Suburbs

From a Ray White Toowong newsletter:

"An interesting trend in the market has continued to grow over the last couple of weeks. There is a strong number of property sales in the $400,000 to $600,000 range. Predominantly these are apartments in the areas of Auchenflower, Toowong, Indooroopilly, St Lucia and Taringa. The majority of these sales have been made to investors looking for a safe stable place to invest their money. Many of these buyers have bought through their Super Funds..."

Toowong, St Lucia and Taringa Unit Report

"The Toowong Area unit market has seen a steady increase in median price during a five year period. Growth during this time was at a compounding rate of 9.6% per annum, with an average of 333 transactions per six month period. In the past year alone growth has climbed to register a median unit price of $410,000, equating to an increase of $43,000 or 11.7% from the previous year."

Source PRD Report from www.prd.com.au/research/

Best Buys for Brisbane Suburban Apartments

I have looked around this weekend, and these apartments seem to be good buys:

• Ciana at Indooroopilly has about 15 new apartments left for sale from developer. Three bedroom apartment for less than $565,000; large two bedroom apartments from $485,000 to $600,000.
• Parklands Sherwood - large two bedroom with 2 cars and views $535,000
  
• Fresh Toowong - large new 2 bedroom garden apartment at $520,000
• El Dorado off the plan: 2 bedroom apartments less than $600,000
• Precinct Toowong - mid size furnished two bedroom listed at $529,000
• Encore Toowong - 1 bedroom garden apartment listed at $339,000

There is also Tennyson Reach, where off the plan purchasers are trying to sell 2 bedroom apartments for $1,200,000 and three bedrooms from $1.6M. Ouch!

REIQ Apartment Price Report for Brisbane - Dec Qtr 2008

As house prices escalated, units and townhouses were the most affordable – and often the only – option for first home buyers. But with the $14,000 and $21,000 boost monies now available, many first-time buyers can now afford to buy a modest house instead.

“This trend, plus investors not yet comprehensively returning to the market, means the unit and townhouse market has been affected by lower overall demand in the December quarter. Over the year, however, most areas recorded steady price growth,” REIQ chairman Peter McGrath said.

Brisbane City - Median December 08 Qtr - $460,000, with 2.2% increase over the Dec 07 results.
Indooroopilly - Median December 08 Qtr - $375,000, with 6.6% increase over the Dec 07 results.
Taringa - Median December 08 Qtr - $365,000, with 10.4% increase over the Dec 07 results.
Toowong - Median December 08 Qtr - $342,500, with 14.9% increase over the Dec 07 results.
West End - Median December 08 Qtr - $524,000, with 7.9% increase over the Dec 07 results.

Brisbane Rentals

It is rental season in Brisbane, and there is strong competition for apartments. Many people are delaying a buying decision, and so are renting. Some renters have locked in long term leases, taking these apartments off the market for some time. Some investors have put their apartments into a short term letting pool for nightly "hotel" rentals, taking these away from the permanent rental market.

Rents for decent unfurnished two bedroom apartments are as high as $600 per week. One bedroom apartments in decent complexes are very popular and hard to find. Add $100 a week for a furnished apartment.

If you are looking to rent, here are some ideas:

• Ciana Indooroopilly, 2 bedroom rents range from $475 to $600 per week
• Parklands Sherwood, 2 bedrooms from $440 per week; 3 bedrooms from $540 per week,
• Fresh Toowong, 2 bedrooms about $500 to $550 per week
• Admiralty Towers One, which has large apartments
• Arbour on Grey, from $550 per week for a 2 bedroom
• Metro 21, has both furnished and unfurnished, and is not doing short stay rentals so the building is more stable and homely.

Also, have a look at this prior post.

Kingshome Apartments - Taringa - Auction Result

Kingshome Apartments
310/190 Swann Road, Taringa
Ray White reports as follows:

Sold Friday 05-Oct-07

SOLD - Under the Hammer - Record Price - $1,350,000

Magnificent 3 bedroom apartment

Panoramic north-easterly city skyline views

2 car secure parking with storage lock-up

Brisbane Apartments in the Suburbs

Sometimes, apartments in the suburbs provide better value than city apartments.

If in a good location and near transport, there is a greater pool of possible residents -- students, young city workers, retired couples, single mothers/fathers with one or two children, widows and the like. In other words, people who want convenience, but not the problems with looking after a house; people who want safety and facilities, but not a city apartment.

The areas of Brisbane that I think will have good capital growth over the next five years are:

• St Lucia -- near the city, Toowong and the University of Queensland. Some apartments have river and city views.
• Indooroopilly -- many facilities, on a main train line, near excellent schools and the University of Queensland. Some apartments have river and city views.
• Toowong -- close to the city, with facilities at Toowong Village, and a transport hub.
• Taringa (between Toowong and Indooroopilly) and on a train line
• Sherwood -- a nice village atmosphere, only 12 km from the city, and on a train line. Near good parks and schools.

People often say West End will be the next hot spot in Brisbane. My view is that the facilities are not as good as the above. I prefer the Southbank area to West End, as you have city and river views and face north. Most of West End faces West (e.g., see the view here.)

There are big plans for Indooroopilly and Toowong redevelopments. This will drive up prices of existing quality apartments.

But you have to be careful, as there are poor quality apartments or apartments in poor locations (i.e., on major roads) in these areas.

I recommend the following apartments and off-the-plan developments.

Off-the-plan

• Fresh Apartments in Toowong -- a resort style complex, with two pools (completion in early 2008)
  
• Ciana at Indooroopilly -- includes pool, restaurant and club (completion in late 2008)
  
• Parklands at Sherwood (completion in 2009) currently in pre-sales, includes pool
  

Typically, a two bedroom two bathroom apartment in these complexes is about $500,000, and will be about 85 sqm internal, and (in addition) a large balcony of about 30 sqm and airconditioned.

Example existing complexes

• Riva at Indooroopilly - river views, pool (which are always fully rented)
  
• Ikon at Indooroopilly, on Station Road, which is the subject of about 3 or 4 proposed new developments
  
• Encore at Toowong pool, close to excellent park (which are always fully rented)