A reader, Ruth Bonnett, sent me this:
"I am thankful that our Local Councillor, David Hinchliffe has brought this overcrowding problem to the surface.
Have any of you noticed overcrowding in your buildings? Are you concerned about the increase in costs to all owners?
Surely there is something Local Council “Can Do”? Can our State Government help?"
"Australia's top institutional and private investors believe the nation is well and truly past the bottom of the property cycle and now heading towards upswing, according to new survey findings released by Colliers International.
The second Colliers International Investor Sentiment Survey, conducted late last month, has shown investors around the country believe that if the property cycle were a clock, with the top of the market at 12 o'clock and the bottom at 6 o'clock, Australia moved upwards to 7 o'clock in Q3-09, after the majority of investors believed the same clock sat at 5 o'clock when they were first surveyed in May for Q2-09. ...
The majority of investors, at 52 per cent, believe Australia is not only past the bottom of the property cycle, but 64% also believe the upswing will occur earlier than indicated in the first survey - by Q2/Q3 2010 or even earlier, instead of in Q4 2010. ...
When asked how they would describe their property investment strategy over the next 12 months, the majority of investors, almost half at 49 per cent, identified they were heading into growth mode, with 43 per cent in defend mode or holding steady. Only 8 per cent were expecting to contract holdings.
Investors also signalled the green light to purchase property is now definitely on. 69 per cent now expect to buy property in Australia over the next 12 months, up from 63 per cent in May. Investors also expect it will become easier to buy property with 47 per cent believing access to debt capital will become easier in the next 12 months, versus just 20 per cent in the May survey.
Most investors, at 45 per cent, are looking to buy office property, with the top 5 buy markets identified as Sydney Office (20 per cent), Melbourne Office (15 per cent), Sydney Residential (7 per cent), Melbourne Residential (6 per cent) and Sydney Industrial (6 per cent). ...
Residential was again the standout property sector with the majority of investors believing values had only declined by 1 to 10 per cent since the peak of the market, while 16 per cent believed residential values hadn't changed at all, or even witnessed some growth. The majority of investors believe there will be no further softening to residential values and 8 per cent believe there will now be growth."
http://www.colliers.com.au/site/page.cfm?c=1305Devine is not proceeding with its French Quarter hotel and apartment project in Alice Street. The site was listed for sale in yesterday's AFR.
As mentioned in a prior post, Devine is selling the French Quarter site.
Here are the sale details: http://www.frenchquarterbrisbane.com.au/
"The French Quarter vision has been shaped by Devine Limited after extensive research, planning and design. The French Quarter includes an agreement with IHG for an InterContinental* Hotel which will complement the development. The marketing and sales success of the apartments at French Quarter is predicated on five key success drivers:
Alice Street is Brisbane’s equivalent of Macquarie Street in Sydney and Clarendon Street in Melbourne. Alice Street has long been recognised as Brisbane’s best apartment address with the presence of The Parliament of Queensland, The Queensland Club, Quay West and The Grosvenor. Buildings on Alice Street overlook the city’s Botanical Gardens and the Brisbane River with high level views as far as the Border Ranges, Moreton Bay and the Glasshouse Mountains.
Albert Street is the principal pedestrian link between the gardens and the Queen Street Mall. This active pedestrian friendly street is well patronised for its many cafés and retail shops."
See also The Australian
Also, Story in the Courier Mail:
Twin tower plans for Brisbane axed by Devine
Michelle Hele | September 17, 2009 12:00am | CM
ANOTHER residential tower project has fallen over in the Brisbane CBD, with Devine pulling out of its $1 billion French Quarter development. An international competition was held to pick its designer and it was to house the most expensive apartments in Brisbane – up to $15 million.
Devine spent years buying up individual apartments in buildings which are currently on the land so it could control the site on the corner of Albert, Alice and Margaret streets. Stage one was to feature a tower with a luxury six-star hotel, with apartments on top, retail and commercial space on the lower levels and Parisian-style cafes and walkways.
But with Devine appointing agents to sell the property it seems unlikely it will ever be delivered.
Meanwhile, Austcorp's Vision Tower is still in limbo with no work carried out for months and some of the group's companies in the hands of voluntary administrators.
Work is also delayed on Trilogy Tower, an $800 million project on the site of the former Red Cross Blood Bank, and Metacap scrapped plans for its $500 million Empire Square tower on Elizabeth St.
Geoff McIntyre of Jones Lang LaSalle and Rick Bird of Ray White Transact have been appointed to sell the French Quarter site and will market the property internationally. Mr McIntyre said it was a one-in-a-million site. Mr Bird spent months negotiating the individual purchase of units in the apartment blocks. The agents said the plan was to sell the property to another party which would go ahead with the project.
Devine managing director David Devine said he was disappointed but after a review of operations the company realised house and land packages were providing a better short-term return at lower risk. The group was also reviewing its land holdings in Queensland and would sell some soon.
Mr Devine said the focus now would be on buying more land in Victoria so the group could turn it into profits quickly.
"You can't do everything that you want to do," he said. "It is disappointing but the fact is that our business is exceptionally good on the house and land front where demand is high and supply is low. We have too much land in some areas in Queensland and we are looking at selling that."
Mr Devine said good sites such as the French Quarter site would sell in any market. Offers to purchase French Quarter close on November 12. Mr McIntyre said in a good market the site could make up to $90 million. Mr Bird said with all the work that had gone into planning, a developer would have a significant head start on the project.Still we had some great results with 9 properties selling under the hammer at auction and a further 3 sold straight after the auctions."
Double Click on the above chart, from Pro Rentals
DEVELOPER Australand will this month begin marketing its $160 million Brisbane apartment development -- to be built on the heritage-listed site where the city's first immigrants arrived in 1887.
The 167 apartments are planned for the Yungaba House site at Kangaroo Point, an exclusive pocket of inner-city real estate on the banks of the Brisbane River.
The development, which has been hotly opposed by the Yungaba Action Group, involves three new apartment buildings as well as the conversion of historic Yungaba House immigration centre into 10 luxury residences. According to selling agents Colliers International, this month's scheduled release of off-the-plan apartments comes at a time of huge pent-up demand from buyers.
"In a Brisbane market paralysed by the credit crunch, buyers have had very limited off-the-plan options," said residential director Ben Langfield said.
"The launch of Yungaba comes at a time when buyers are crying out for a slice of inner-city living."
Built in 1887 as an immigration reception centre, Yungaba accepted its first six residents at the end of that year from the migrant ship the Duke of Buccleuch. Australand Queensland general manager Nigel Edgar said the project, which included the construction of a public multicultural centre, would unlock lost heritage and give residents an opportunity to live in one of Brisbane's most exclusive inner-city areas.
However, Australand's plans have not impressed the Yungaba Action Group, which says the planned multicultural centre is not an acceptable substitute for a building that was the gateway to Queensland.
The Kangaroo Point development, on a 1.9ha site bought by Australand in 2003, will be a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments as well as double-storey sky homes.
The house at 5040 South Greenwood Avenue, next door to the Obama family's residence, hit the Chicago real estate market over the weekend and caused quite a stir.
NY Times articleIf you own an apartment, and wish to rent it, there is often a choice between using the onsite building manager (who will often have a real estate agent license) or an offsite real estate agent. There are positives and negatives of both. This is the view of Chris Hinds, an offsite agent, as set out in a recent mailing from him:
"In this day and age, the majority of On-site management offices can provide generic Property Management services. Inappropriately trained staff are usually placed within minimal staffed offices and a heavy reliance is placed on technology and computers to deliver the required service. The business owner is normally no-where to be seen whilst the management of your property is generally handled by unaccountable staff that do not even own an investment property themselves. Sound familiar? Common concerns that generally arise from the above are…
"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.
"... the Australian Bureau of Statistics' figures on the country's national GDP expenditure for fiscal 2009 revealed dwelling investment slumped a seasonally adjusted 10.9 per cent. In the June quarter it dived 5.5 per cent."
http://city-north-news.whereilive.com.au/news/story/residents-oppose-river-tower/
HAMILTON: More than 100 Hamilton residents will challenge Brisbane City Council this week to object to a proposed 15-storey riverfront development on Kingsford Smith Drive. Tenants from 101 units at Bretts Wharf Apartment Complex in Harbour Rd have sent submissions to the council. They say the multi-unit dwelling, which features short-term and hotel accommodation, will be inconsistent with the area and create traffic chaos. ``Fifteen storeys is a joke in such a tiny area,’’ Tony Hall, who lives on the eighth storey of Windermere tower, said.El Dorado Indooroopilly redevelopment, which is running a year behind schedule. Prices have risen dramatically! It seems that about nine contracts have crashed since this time last year, as in Sept 2008, the price list showed that there were 25 or 28 apartments remaining for sale. Now:
"Apartments are now selling off the plan with the development due to start in 2010 and the expected completion date is early 2013.
More information along with floor plans is now available on the websites below.
Three bedroom apartments, were $805,000, now listed for $925,000
"But real estate agent says pet-friendly apartment buildings are worth more than those that prohibit pets. "Any small apartment block that doesn't allow pets is crazy," Leonarder Collins says. "Owners are just doing themselves out of money."
DomainDomain reports:
"Although the growth in Brisbane property values was subdued compared to a national increase of 5.9 per cent, South-East Queensland’s market notably did not suffer the dive of markets interstate in the year’s first quarter.
The median Brisbane unit price of $349,666 remained the most affordable of any capital city, and the average property "time on market" has been a testament to the fact.
Both apartments and houses in Brisbane are being snapped up by investors, upgraders and downsizers alike within 29 days the figures showed.
According to rpdata.com properties in Brisbane are providing a "very strong value proposition to potential buyers". The "value for money" in the river city has been underpinned by historically low mortgage rates and only small rises in unemployment."
Brisbane Units - days on market = 26 days (almost the best in the nation)
Brisbane Units - 7 months to end of July increase - up 6.25%
Brisbane Units - 12 month Year on Year increase (at end of July) - up 6.58%
Brisbane Units - July 09 increase - up 3.26%
Based on Australia’s largest property database, owned by rpdata.com which includes roughly 145,000 sales for the first seven months of 2009, Australia’s housing recovery has continued in the month of July with solid across-the-board capital gains.
According to the market respected RP Data-Rismark Home Value Index, Australian home values rose by +0.9 percent in the month of July 2009. This brings total capital growth in the first seven months of 2009 to 5.9 percent.
Underpinned by historically low mortgage rates and only small rises in unemployment, Australian home values have now risen 1.8 percent past their February 2008 peak.
Rpdata.com national research director Tim Lawless, said, “Not only has Australia’s residential property market outperformed the other major western markets, it has also provided superior returns compared to shares, commercial property, superannuation, hedge funds and private equities. Australia’s residential market has been further supported by low mortgage default rates, at just 0.6 percent, compared with 5 percent in the US and 3 percent in the UK.”
“Every mainland capital city has experienced solid growth during the first seven months of the year. “ Mr Lawless said.
Oaks Hotels & Resorts Ltd net profit was down 33.3% to $9.8 million in the year to June 30, 2009, on revenue up 11.5% to $120.9 million.
Professor Chris Eves, who led the study, said the team tracked high value areas, middle value and establishing suburbs.
"The bottom line is that the market is still declining, and the number of homebuyers has not increased according to expectations in relation to the improving economy," he said.
"Our view is that we haven't seen the worst of the decline yet, and property figures in all areas will remain in decline while the unemployment figures are still rising.
"The most significant decline in weekly property listings for sale in the period from February to May was in the middle-value suburbs, which have seen a 17.7 per cent decrease in weekly listings over the past six months."
"FOUR years after Transit Oriented Developments were touted as key to housing thousands of people around transport hubs, building is yet to start on any.
Instead projects designed to create a self-contained living, working and leisure environment in Brisbane have been blocked by red tape, rising headworks charges, financing issues and business woes.
It's not that the concept has no appeal. FKP's The Mill project in the inner northern Brisbane suburb of Albion has had strong pre-sales. But in light of changing market conditions, FKP is still awaiting approval after reconfiguring some plans.
The company has also spent years developing plans for another TOD over the railway station at Milton, in the city's inner west, and has revised plans awaiting approval from the Brisbane City Council.
But without approvals in place yet there is no certainty as to when construction will start."
"There is also a stash of inventory hovering on the sidelines: new apartments that have not been offered for sale because developers — who put units on the market in phases — fear they will push prices down further.
Mr. Miller estimates that there are 7,000 of these “shadow” units in Manhattan alone and more than 20,000 citywide."
Source: NYTimes
" West End Riverside residents are fighting Brisbane City Council proposals to turn the former industrial area into a concrete jungle. Secretary of Regatta Apartments body corporate committee Paul Rees said residents of the new Riverside apartment buildings were stunned at learning the Council’s draft neighbourhood plan would allow 12 storey buildings in the area, when the current plan provides for seven storeys, while elsewhere in West End, 30 storey high rise buildings will be allowed.
“What Council is proposing is outrageous,” Mr Rees said. “The draft neighbourhood plan is a plan to wreck our neighbourhood.”
“It’s horrifying that the Council is planning to wreck the heart of West End, with five storey buildings planned for Boundary Street, Vulture Street and Jane Street, and 15 storey buildings on Mollison Street. This may mean windfall profits for the Council’s developer mates but it’s local people and the wider Brisbane community that has to pay.”
Riverside residents from the seven new apartment complexes, as well as residents from “old” West End, will meet at the Big Lizard in Boundary Street at 12.30pm on Saturday before walking en masse to the Council’s community consultation session at the Kurilpa Senior Citizens hall.
“New and old residents alike want to see the old industrial areas redeveloped but it has to be on a human-scale which protects West End’s village atmosphere,” Mr Rees said.
“Residents have made this clear to the Council through countless community consultations but the plan they’ve come up with ignores this input and betrays the community. It appears Council wants to crowd more than 25,000 extra people into the area – the equivalent of the population of Gympie. We want a vibrant, liveable, sustainable community and what they are trying to foist on West End will create concrete canyons, wind tunnels, overcrowding and alienation."
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