Zhang Kai, an agent at Home Link in middle-class neighbourhood Tuanjiehu said the number of sales had dropped by half since February and monthly rents for small apartments jumped to about 3000 yuan in June from 2500 yuan a month earlier.
Many apartment owners don't want to sell, he said, because they are waiting for prices to turn around.
The 22-hectare showgrounds will be trimmed. Five and a half hectares will be transformed to residential apartments - 2000 across 12 buildings, with 145,000 square metres of commercial office space across six buildings.
Glen Steedman is the project director of Lend Lease's $2.9 billion project. He said the images of the first apartments - around 300 one and two-bedroom apartments with a small number of three-bedroom apartments - would go to the market in August.
Originally these were going to be in 10-storey apartment blocks, but testing of Brisbane's CBD market found a "courtyard" style with six or seven apartments per storey was more appropriate for the designers, architects Cox Rayner. They will now be offered in six five- and six-storey complexes behind the Jubilee Hotel.
Mr Steedman said Lend Lease is convinced these small changes will suit Brisbane's inner-city market.
"One and two-bedroom apartments react best to the demographic that lives in this area; the professionals, the students who want to live close to the city and close to the Valley," he said.
Mr Steedman believes the 1900 to 2000 units that will eventually be built will house just over 3000 permanent residents and around 12,000 people will work in the area.
Source: Brisbane Times
REIQ Press Release:
The Queensland unit and townhouse market has not been immune from this year’s natural disasters and patchy economic conditions, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ). According to the REIQ’s March quarter Queensland Market Monitor report, median unit and townhouse prices eased across much of South East Queensland during the first three months of 2011.
While a number of regional centres bucked this trend to record positive growth, this was mainly due to the construction of new unit or townhouse developments, or the sale of more expensive existing stock, in these areas over the period. The number of preliminary unit and townhouse sales in Queensland decreased 15 per cent over the March quarter.
“The unit and townhouse market has been impacted by lower numbers of first home buyers and investors, who are the type of buyers usually the most interested in this more affordable segment of the market,” REIQ chairman Pamela Bennett said.
“First home buyers continue to languish at about 15 per cent of the Queensland residential property market, while investors appear to have adopted a wait-and-see approach until a clearer picture emerges on interest rates and the economy. The prestige market is also struggling with the number of preliminary sales of units and townhouses for more than $1 million across Queensland dropping about 40 per cent compared to the December quarter. “
The median unit and townhouse price in Brisbane eased 1.4 per cent to $395,000 over the quarter. On the Gold and Sunshine coasts, the median unit price decreased 2.7 per cent to $355,000 and 2.1 per cent to $350,000 respectively.
“REIQ agents continue to report a significant drop in demand compared to the same period last year, but this is creating wonderful opportunities for buyers with many sellers having to be very realistic about what price they can achieve in the current conditions if they want to make a sale,” Ms Bennett said.
See Brisbane Times
The luxury end of the market is “illiquid” – that is to say, it only attracts, by definition, a small number of buyers and sellers – and is afflicted by far greater risk or volatility. This is highlighted by RP Data-Rismark’s luxury property index, which is denoted by the red line in the chart below. Observe how during 2009 and 2010 the most expensive homes outperformed the broader market. Yet during the recent soft-landing, it has been this same cohort that has tanked, relatively speaking. ...
My sixth myth is that Australian house prices are massively overvalued and set to fall by 20 to 40%. You may recall that my regular sparring partner, associate professor Steve Keen, famously predicted in 2008 that Aussie house prices were “going to fall by 40% or so in the next few years.” Well, he could not have been more wrong. Dwelling prices in
Put differently, dwelling prices are nearly 70% higher than where Dr Keen expected them to be. My other mate, the economist Rory Robertson, challenged Dr Keen to a bet on this note, which the latter lost. As a result, Dr Keen ended up walking from Canberra to Mount Kosciuszko wearing a T-shirt exclaiming “I was hopelessly wrong on house prices” (or something to that effect). ...
For real estate, some economists say, an end to the seemingly endless decline in housing values might be in sight.
Not immediately. At the moment, prices are still dropping. In 20 large cities, prices fell 0.8 percent in March from the previous month, according to the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index released Tuesday. That pushed the closely watched index below its level of two years ago to a new post-bubble low, and put it 33.1 percent under its July 2006 peak.
Few analysts expect housing prices to rebound anytime soon. But quite a few are predicting that the market is close to the moment when things will stop getting worse, which will be a major improvement all by itself.
“By far the bulk of the downturn of housing prices is beyond us,” said Paul Dales of Capital Economics. He expects the market to slip 5 percent further, slightly more than he was expecting a few months ago.
“There are some amazingly favorable signs. Housing is the most undervalued it’s been in 35 years,” Mr. Dales said. “At some point, it’s going to do very well.”
Sales of studios and one-bedrooms rebounded first after the market crashed in late 2008, followed by three-bedrooms, but it wasn’t until mid-2010 that the two-bedroom market started its comeback. Now, brokers say that the demand for smaller apartments has ebbed and that two-bedroom apartments are all the rage, especially those priced at the lower end of the market.
Alan Nickman, an executive vice president of Bellmarc Realty, says that more buyers have recently come to him looking for apartments between $750,000 and $1.2 million. “That’s basically your starter two-bedrooms,” Mr. Nickman said, adding that the pool of potential buyers included “first-time buyers who are going straight into a two-bedroom,” bypassing smaller units.
This is information from RP Data.
Prices & Volumes
Demand
According to Tim Lawless, RP Data’s research director, expensive suburbs have helped drag the overall market down. RP Data and Rismark divide their capital city index into three sub-indices: the bottom 20 per cent of suburbs ranked by price, the middle 60 per cent, and the top 20 per cent.
Over the year to end April, dwellings in the most expensive capital city suburbs recorded a -5.4 per cent loss (see second chart). In contrast, home values in the middle 60 per cent of suburbs were down by only -0.9 per cent. Dwellings located in the cheapest 20 per cent of suburbs were the best performers, hardly moving (-0.5 per cent).
RP Data’s Tim Lawless commented, “The solid performance of cheap suburbs runs against the grain of popular claims that default rates are rocketing up amongst first time buyers, which the RBA recently rejected.”
“The luxury end of the housing market is also showing its volatility. During the growth phase of the cycle the most expensive homes realised the highest capital gains. Yet as the market cools premium home values seem to be losing steam the fastest,” he said.
According to Mr Lawless, the weak conditions seen in the Perth and Brisbane markets combined with the comparatively high capital gains recorded in Melbourne and Sydney has driven a widening housing cost gap.
“Brisbane’s median house price is now 24 per cent lower than Sydney’s and 14 per cent lower than Melbourne’s. Pre-GFC the gap between Brisbane and Sydney dwelling prices was as narrow as 6.4 per cent. Perth dwelling prices are now 18 per cent lower than Sydney’s and 8 per cent lower than Melbourne’s. At its narrowest, the gap between Perth and Sydney prices was just 2.3 per cent. The improved buying proposition in these cities should help support buyer sentiment, which has been very weak since the financial crisis,” Mr Lawless said.
Christopher Joye added, “Notwithstanding that low vacancy rates will help rental growth outperform core inflation, the capital growth environment is as we forecast last year: missing in action. If the RBA raises rates another 1-2 times this year, we project that house prices will remain soft and likely register some modest losses. While home values in Australia have not risen for a year, wages and disposable household incomes are growing rapidly. This is improving the valuation dynamics every day. When the RBA eventually cuts interest rates, the housing market will benefit from a tremendous affordability dividend.”
See RP Data Release
"According to Place research analyst Lachlan Walker, there were 2015 apartments available for sale off the plan at the end of the March quarter, the equivalent of about two years' supply given current sale rates.
There also are another 2000 off-the-plan apartments that could potentially be put on the market by the end of the year.
Mr Walker said the first three months of the year had been challenging for all types of residential property."
See Courier Mail: Unit Supply Hits New Heights
"Two extreme examples can be given to show what clearly falls outside the purpose of the by-law making power:
The present situation in which a by-law prohibits the normal residential activity of keeping a cat or dog is not as extreme as either of the above examples. However, it is of concern that the body corporate has adopted a blanket prohibition on dogs and cats when the keeping of such pets is a normal residential activity in Queensland and these pets can commonly be kept without interfering with the enjoyment of neighbouring residences. Of course, some pets will interfere with the enjoyment of neighbouring residences. However, adopting a blanket prohibition against every single cat and dog is unreasonable, disproportionate to the potential problem, and outside the scope of a by-law for the purpose of the control, management, administration, use or enjoyment of the lots and common property."
Source: BIS in The Australian
The natural disasters earlier this year, coupled with the higher interest rate environment, resulted in a weaker March quarter for residential property, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ). The impact of the Queensland floods was keenly felt in affected Brisbane suburbs over the period with many suburbs not recording enough preliminary sales for a reliable median house price to be calculated.
The REIQ’s March quarter median house price report found that out of about 50 Brisbane suburbs reportedly flood-affected, only 17 recorded a minimum of 10 preliminary sales to allow a median house price to be calculated. The biggest drops in preliminary sales occurred in Moorooka, Graceville and Kenmore when compared to the December quarter last year.
“Many would-be sellers in these areas have wisely either taken their homes off the market – even if they were not flooded – or decided they will ride out any market reaction to properties in flood-affected areas,” REIQ chairman Pamela Bennett said. “While some affected Brisbane suburbs did record a drop in preliminary sales, a number of others that were partially flooded continued to record steady sales over the quarter, which is a testament to the continued desirability of living in locations such as New Farm and West End. About 75 per cent of Brisbane was not affected by the floods and these areas are continuing to record steady sales and results.”
Over the March quarter, the Queensland property market remained soft with sales numbers down about 14 per cent compared to the December quarter last year.
The Brisbane median house price decreased 1.9 per cent to $515,000 over the quarter. Preliminary sales numbers were down about 15 per cent on the previous quarter.
The Gold Coast’s median house price remained steady at $490,000 over the quarter and was also one of the few areas across the state to record a stable number of preliminary sales.
“The majority of Queensland is still very much a buyer’s market,” Ms Bennett said.
"... Ms Greenwood and Mr Gaffney contracted to purchase an apartment, lot 80, by a contract with the defendant dated 27 December 2006. Their contract specified a price of $508,400. However, on a separate page it contained a special condition, handwritten by Ms Greenwood, which was as follows:
"The settlement to be on forty-five (45) days, but if settlement occurs within thirty (30) days, there will be a rebate of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000)."
Their evidence is that Mr Kemm asked them to contract in these terms, the mutual intention being that the price would be $408,400, because he thought it desirable that it be represented that this apartment had sold for $508,000, which Ms Greenwood said had become the list price by the time of their contract.
Whilst Mr Stumer knew that Ms Greenwood and Mr Gaffney were themselves buying an apartment, he was unaware of the price and of its significant discount upon the listed price. There is no specific complaint that the non-disclosure of her contract price was misleading and deceptive. However, that non-disclosure, in the circumstances of the long friendship between these individuals, does not enhance her credibility. More importantly, the fact that Ms Greenwood and Mr Gaffney were prepared to facilitate a misrepresentation of their contract price to other potential buyers is relevant to their credibility."
"Looking at going rates for Brisbane
Budget on spending big if you plan using the Riverside Centre’s car park, situated in the heart of the financial, business and Riverside fine-dining precinct – at $21 for up to 30 minutes, it’s the most expensive place to park short-term in Brisbane’s
As public transport fares also continue to skyrocket, leasing a
“Contracting sales below the $500,000 price point can be attributed to the exacerbated impact increasing interest rates and the rising cost of living have had within this price sensitive market”
Brisbane unit product sold within the December 2010 half year has recorded an annual increase of 3.8% ($15,000), to register $415,000. Similarly to the house market, sales activity within all price brackets has contracted, although unit sales within the lower price points have absorbed the brunt of falling demand. This has resulted in median price displaying growth, whereas values have most likely softened as vendors are forced to discount prices in order to sell.
“The CBD Precinct consistently achieves less capital growth than fringe areas due to its location as the primary hub of Brisbane, however this region does yield higher rental returns”
Over the December 2010 half year period, the Brisbane CBD unit market has established a median price of $467,000 through an annual growth of 4.4% ($19,500). This represented the second highest growth across Brisbane throughout the December 2010 six months.
In order to establish the realised returns by vendors who sold their unit during the December 2010 period, PRDnationwide Research conducted a resale analysis. The Brisbane CBD Precinct consistently achieves less capital growth than fringe areas, due to its location as the primary hub of Brisbane in terms of amenity, employment and entertainment. The resale analysis has supported this, recording an average annual capital growth of 3.9% per annum. This product was held for an average period of just under five years.
The number of general apartment sales in the CBD Precinct has tightened significantly by 46% (167 sales) over the December 2010 half year period to register 197 sales. This reflects the second strongest drop in sales volumes for all precincts within the Brisbane LGA over the December 2010 period.
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