Pradella developments

Pradella has a number of apartment developments in Brisbane that are currently being marketed.  These include:

Riverside, West End
1 bedrooms from $400,000
2 bedrooms from $540,000
3 bedrooms from $929,000
These apartments will be located behind the Waters Edge complex.  Project website.

Skyview, Kelvin Grove
1 bedrooms from $335,000
2 bedrooms from $524,000
3 bedrooms from $789,000
Settlement expected late 2014.

Canvas, South Brisbane
1 bedrooms from $346,000
2 bedrooms from $575,000
Settlement expected mid 2014.

Urban Edge, Kelvin Grove -- development completed
1 bedrooms from $429,000
2 bedrooms from $539,000

Waters Edge, West End -- development completed
2 bedrooms from $600,000
3 bedrooms from $889,000

Parklands at Sherwood - development completed
from $395,000

Recent Apartment Sales in Brisbane Suburbs

Ciana Indooroopilly (all sales from original developer)

• Apt 29, 2 bed, 2 bath, 2 cars, top floor, sold on 21 February 2013 for $555,000
• Apt 86, 2 bed, 2 bath, 2 cars, top floor, sold on 1 February 2013 for $560,000
• Apt 58, 3 bed, 2 bath,  top floor, sold on 1 February 2013 for $652,500
• Apt 49, 2 bed, 2 bath, 2 cars, top floor, sold on 1 February 2013 for $450,000

Riva Indooroopilly (Pradella development)

• Apt 5, 1 bedroom, ground floor, sold in February for $376,000 (seller had paid $245,000 in 2004)

Parklands Sherwood (Pradella development)

• Apt 202, 2 bed, 2 bath, large study, ground floor, sold for $370,000 (seller had paid $476,000 in 2009).

Walk Score

An interesting website to rate whether a property is located close to amenities is WalkScore (update:  new link:   https://www.redfin.com/how-walk-score-works.  For each address, the site will give you a score between 1 and 100 as to walkability.  Using the StreetSmart Walkscore feature, you can see what routes to take and what types of facilities are nearby.  Here is an example for an apartment complex in Sherwood.  A generalisation: The higher the walk score, the better the location of the property.

Pradella

I repeat this comment from a reader, who purchased at Parklands Sherwood from Pradella, the developer. I agree.

"One has to wonder how the planning controls that regulate development could be allowed to bypass the building flood heights of 1974.

The floods came perilously close to inundation through those long dark hours of the 11/12 January 2011. The townhouses were going under the Resident Manager was knocking on the doors advising all to evacuate. We all wondered what would be the outcome.
Pradella, I wonder….. who you fed your big fat envelope to! When you were spruking to purchasers that the 1974 flood height was to the level of the swimming pool and that the complex would be built 2.5 metres above this height so that there would never be any flood risk.
I was assured when I purchased my apartment Parklands @ Sherwood from Coldwell Banker the selling Agents for Pradella Developments that the complex would not flood as it was built 2.5 metres above the 1974 flood levels. Do you think I would ever waste my money buying an apartment which was in the 1974 flood zone.
Who do you hold responsible? The Developer Pradella, The Water Board!, and/or the Brisbane City Council who aided and abetted in the development.
Why did Queensland Water allow a massive discharge of 645,000 megalitres from Wivenhoe Dam on Tuesday, at the peak of the flood crisis.
Between cleaning up and moving out on Tuesday 12 January 2011, several owners have expressed dismay that the only people that Pradella’s on site Managers addressed was their 30 or so rental Property tenants not once in their address did anyone from PRADELLA acknowledge the huge financial losses now impacting the Owners, nor the disruption to living and the associated expenses imposed as a result of water inundation.
Somebody from Pradella maybe even Mr Kim Pradella himself should explain to property owners the true flood levels and the Council should consider why the development, should have been approved!
Confused – Angry Lot Owner"

Pradella's communication (and that off their onsite managers, Central Apartments, controlled by Pradella), has been hopeless. And it seems that Pradella has a habit of buying cheap land, and then developing. Low & behold, many Pradella apartments have flooded:

Parklands Sherwood: (from the Pradella website): ""20/01/11: Whilst an amazing effort has been undertaken by Building management, Developer staff, tenants and residents, friends of tenants and residents, volunteers and emergency service staff in progressing the cleanup, much work is still required. Damage to services is still being assessed and whilst we hope power may be restored to some of the areas soon, other services and facilities will take considerable time to return to normal.:

Waters Edge (from the Pradella website): "20/01/11: Whilst significant progress has been made on the cleanup effort, the building is still without power and telecommunications due to the damage to equipment in the basement. All residents and tenants have been evacuated and quite obviously due to power issues, the building is not liveable at this point.

West End Central (from the Pradella website): "21/01/11: The clean up continues and the car park is looking better each day. We are hopeful that the repair of the electrical switchboard will commence next week. 20/01/11: Regretfully little change or positive news from what was reported earlier this week. 18/01/11: Whilst no flooding occurred in the lobby, reception pool area or apartments, the property has still been severely affected.

Encore Toowong: Flooded

Tempo West End: Flooded

Left Bank West End: Flooded

Flow West End: Mildly Flooded

Parklands at Sherwood Update

The unique Pradella development at Sherwood, "Parklands at Sherwood" has about 22 apartments remaining for sale. Stages 1 and 2 completed and settled last year. It is rumoured that Stage 3 apartments will start being sold off-the-plan this year. All North facing (parkview) 2 bedroom apartments have sold out. The village green view apartments will have a better aspect once Stage 3 is complete.

In my view, these apartments are a good size, with generally good floor plans (particularly when compared with recently released developments). It is worth comparing the 3 bedroom parkview apartments (which are about 150sqm total floor area) for less than $700,000 with the 2 bedroom apartments that are less than 90sqm for about the same price.

Some example pricing:

Two bedroom apartments

1. Two bedroom, 2 bath, plus large multipurpose room. 95 sqm internal plus 17 sqm balcony, for a total of 112 sqm, ground floor - $519,000

2. Two bedroom, 2 bath, separate laundry, large living room, 2 car parks and 2 storage cages, ground floor corner apartment - 91 sqm internal and 29 sqm balcony for a total of 120 sqm - $535,000

3. Two bedroom, 2 bath, top floor, 2 car parks, 83 sqm internal and 14 sqm balconey = 97 sqm total for $515,000

Three bedroom apartments

4. Three bed, 2 bath, separate meals area, separate laundry, overlooking parklands, corner apartment 117 sqm internal, 24 sqm balcony - $685,000.

5. Three bed, 2 bath, separate meals area, separate laundry, top floor, overlooking parklands, corner apartment 118 sqm internal, 31 sqm balcony, 150 sqm for - $695,000.

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

Selecting a 2 bed apartment

I am often asked what to look for when buying an apartment in Brisbane. Here are some general rules of thumb and issues to consider.

• How many apartments are in the building in total? If there are more than 200 apartments in the building, my opinion is that the building is too big. This creates many issues. One problem is that if you try to sell or rent your apartment, you will be competing with too many other apartments in the building. And there will be too many people using the shared facilities.
• How many elevators in the building, and what is the ratio of elevators to apartments. Moreover, the higher the building, the more elevators are needed. For some of the better buildings in Brisbane, there are 32 or 38 or 44 apartments per elevator. This is good. So using these ratios, a building with 400 apartments should have 9 to 12 elevators.
• How many apartments per floor? A larger floor plate usually results in a less friendly building and more security issues. I think that 6 apartments per floor is a good number.
• Is there a pool, gym and common room?
• Where is the building located? Avoid main roads and highways.
• Is there an onsite and live-in manager.
• How much money is in the building sinking fund. For a large building, this would typically be more than $500,000 (depending on age and size). A new building has a smaller sinking fund, and should have less problems.

For a two bedroom apartment, here are some additional considerations:

• What is the total internal size? Anything less than 85 sqm internal is too small for a two bedroom. There are good two bedroom apartments in Brisbane where the internal size is over 100 sqm.
• What is the total size, including balcony? This should be at least 95sqm. Here are some typical sizes of good 2 bed apartments in Brisbane that I have looked at recently - 132 sqm, 116 sqm, 128 sqm, 119 sqm. I would avoid any apartment without a balcony. (I saw a new Mirvac apartment on the Gold Coast that was 150 sqm internal, plus a 25 sqm balcony.)
• What is the width of the living room. Ideally, the living room should be at least 4 metres wide. A typical living room is 4m wide x 6m depth.
• A corner or floor-thu apartment will usually have better breezes and more light.
• Do all bedrooms have windows?
• Each bedroom should be at least 3m by 3.2m in size, plus built in wardrobe. Ideally, the main bedroom should have a wall that is at least 4m long.
• What is the external length of the apartment? This determines how much natural light the apartment will have. A good two bedroom apartment will have an 11 metre frontage, or more. (This is typically 4m for the living room, and 2 bedrooms of at least 3m each.) A two bedroom apartment in Admiralty Towers has a 12.3 m frontage on one side, which is great, plus another 7m down the side of the apartment -- a real bonus. I saw a 2 bedroom apartment recently that had only 7.7m frontage -- not enough -- the second bedroom was dark! A corner apartment or floor-thu apartment will have much more external frontage. For example, a corner two bedroom apartment at Parklands Sherwood has a 16.7 m frontage. Keep in mind that 1m makes a big difference here.
• Does the apartment have an internal laundry & store room in the apartment, or is the laundry in a cupboard?
• How many storage and linen and broom cupboards? Some apartments have none!
• Is the floor plan well designed. Not too much wasted space (e.g., hallways). Ideally, I like the bedrooms to be separated.
• What are the views, and could the views be built out?
• What floor? A higher floor is usually better, but not always. In the downtown area, try to be above the 6th floor at least.
• Two bathrooms are better than one bathroom. Some two bed apartments in Brisbane have two ensuites, plus a powder room for guests.
• Is there a both a shower and a bath?
• Does the apartment have a car park allocated to it. An apartment without a carpark is much harder to sell or rent. Sometimes, but rarely, a two bedroom apartment will have two carparks.
• Is there extra storage (for example, in the basement) allocated to the apartment.
• What are the quality of the finishes. See this post.

Not all apartments will be super apartments, and sometimes compromises have to be made. Price is also relevant! A two bed apartment for $450,000 will not be as good as a two bed apartment for $725,000! Or at least, I would hope so. So also look at price per sqm when comparing apartments.

NearMaps

Here are some great recent photos from NearMaps of various Brisbane apartment complexes:

• Fresh Toowong & Encore Toowong
• Parklands Sherwood
• Tennyson Reach
• Admiralty Precinct, including Meriton's new development (and here too)
• Newstead River Park
• Hamilton Portside
• Water's Edge site, Flow and Riverpoint
• South Bank, Arbour on Grey

Charlotte Towers, Festival Towers, Felix, Sebel Brisbane: here

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

Poor returns at Mirvac's Tennyson Reach

I pity the investors who purchased an apartment at Mirvac's Tennyson Reach. The returns are terrible. The quality and size of the apartments are great. There are magnificent river views from most apartments. But the location is pretty terrible. There is no neigbourhood. The tennis centre is very industrial.

As previously reported, Mirvac has sued at least 10 purchasers who did not settle. Valuations for some apartments came in $200,000 or more under contract price. It will be hard for an original buyer to resell without making a loss. There are about 30 apartments listed for resale at present.

As at mid July 2009, there were 23 apartments listed for rent by the onsite manager. There are over 40 rental listings on realestate.com.au. Rents for unfurnished apartments are:

• 2 bedrooms: $500 to $600 per week
• 3 bedrooms: most in the $700 to $790 per week range, although one is listed at $590 per week and another at $600 per week
  

So let's compare with Parklands at Sherwood. The Parklands apartments don't have river views, and are smaller than Tennyson. But the location is better, and the pool area is superior.

Tennyson - 2 bedroom sold for $990,000 and rents for $500 per week
Parklands - 2 bedroom sold for $495,000 and rents for $450 per week

Tennyson - 3 bedroom sold for $1,400,000 and rents for $720 per week
Parklands - 3 bedroom sold for $700,000 and rents for $570 per week

The Tennyson apartments are double in price, but the rent is not.

Price Drop at Parklands Sherwood

Pradella has decreased the list price for apartments at Sherwood. In my opinion, the city view apartments are great -- but there are few of these left. It is a very good development. Two apartment buildings are complete. There are 3 more apartment buildings that are planned (construction not commenced).

Apt 201 - 2 bed - rear view - ground floor - decreased to $509,000
Apt 203 - small 2 bed - rear view - ground floor - decreased to $485,000
Apt 204 - 1 bed - rear view - ground floor - decreased to $379,000
Apt 205 - large 2 bed - rear & side view - ground floor - decreased to $549,000
Apt 206 - large 2 bed - city view - ground floor - decreased to $559,000
Apt 213 - 3 bed - city view - ground floor - decreased to $690,000
Apt 214 - 3 bed - city view - ground floor - decreased to $699,000
Apt 216 - 1 bed - rear view - ground floor - decreased to $379,000
Apt 221 - small 2 bed - rear view - 1st floor - decreased to $495,000
Apt 222 - 1 bed - rear view - 1st floor - decreased to $385,000
Apt 223 - large 2 bed - rear & side view - 1st floor - decreased to $559,000
Apt 225 - small 2 bed - city view - 1st floor - decreased to $515,000
Apt 231 - 3 bed - city view - 1st floor - decreased to $699,000
Apt 240 - 1 bed - rear view - 2nd floor - decreased to $395,000
Apt 241 - large 2 bed - rear & side view - 2nd floor - decreased to $569,000
Apt 243 - small 2 bed - city view - 2bd floor - decreased to $525,000
Apt 250 - 3 bed - city view - 2nd floor - decreased to $719,000
Apt 251 - large 2 bed - rear & side view - 2nd floor - decreased to $575,000

Brisbane Vacancy Rate

Vacancy rate for all Brisbane properties (houses and apartments, anywhere in Brisbane) is a low 1.9%

SQM has a good website to look at rental vacancy rates:
Brisbane City (4000 postcode) - 1.7%
South Brisbane area (4101) - 1.6%
Toowong (4066) - 1.4%
St Lucia (4067) - 1.5%
Indooroopilly (4068) - 1.9%
Sherwood area (4075) - 2.6%
Hamilton (4007) - 4.4%
Noosa (4567) - 2.2%
Mooloolaba (4557) - 1.3%

See also story in Courier Mail

"INNER Brisbane rents are increasing at more than 10 per cent a year, with a downturn in new apartments expected to keep vacancies tight.

DTZ Research has shown the biggest growth has been in one-bedroom units in the inner south and inner west suburbs of South Brisbane, West End and Indooroopilly, where rents have risen by up to 20 per cent.

The median rent of a one-bedroom unit in the inner south is now $420 a week, only $10 less than the CBD median price. DTZ director of project marketing Paul Barratt said the strongest growth in the next two years would be in near-city units and middle-ring suburbs with good transport."

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!

Parklands at Sherwood Completes

Stage One at Pradella's Parkland at Sherwood is now complete. There appear to be some good buys, including a large one bedroom for less than $400,000. There are apartments for rent too. This looks like a great development.

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.

Rentals In Brisbane

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.

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

Brisbane Apartment Hotspots

"National Property Research managing director Matthew Gross said the area surrounding Sherwood in Brisbane's west will also be a future hot spot.

The combination of continued population growth and an undersupply of residential stock will lead to increased prices in the long-term, Mr Gross said.

Pradella's large-scale Parklands at Sherwood development is also likely to underpin growth, with stage one of the $150 million project nearing completion.

"As new, quality stock hits the market, it is anticipated the median rental figures for apartments in Sherwood will also grow significantly, providing investors with exciting purchasing opportunities," Mr Gross said.

See Brisbane Times

Sherwood Parklands

I have previously written about Pradella's development "Parklands at Sherwood" which is high on a hilltop overlooking parks and Oxley Creek, with city views in the distance. See prior comment.

I visited again this week. Apartment Building 1 (AP1, marketed as Jacaranda) is almost complete. The bottom floor is at lockup stage, and the top floor apartments are being tiled. Looks like about 2 to 3 months work until completion. Apartment Building 2 (AP2, marketed as Brookline) now has a roof. The bottom floor has internal walls, the top floor has frames for internal walls. Probably 6 months more work till completion. There are also terrace house and detached houses.

I am very impressed with the apartments. Even the smaller two bedroom apartments seem large. Maybe this is because at least half the apartments have great park views. The design and outlook is good. I am less impressed by the detached houses -- they are in the worst location in the development, and the rooms seem smaller than I would have liked.

There are some resales already listed:

• smaller 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, study nook, 2 cars, top floor, park & city views - listed at $530,000
• smaller 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, study nook, 2 cars, top floor, village green views- listed at $520,000
• 3 bedroom townhouse - listed at $798,000

Some of the developer stock in AP1, at the rear of the building, is discounted. For example, a 2 bedroom apartment for sale in the mid $400,000s. There is good buying to be had, and this development will impress when complete.

Parklands at Sherwood Residential Development

I recently visited the Parklands at Sherwood development, by Pradella. It is currently under construction, with stage one completion planned for this year.

When complete, the development will have 239 residential dwellings - a mixture of houses, townhouses and apartments. They all share a pool, gym and resident's meeting room. For this post, I will focus on the apartments.

Stage One consists of 28 apartments, over two floors. There is a mixture of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments. Half the apartments face the park, and half face the town houses.

Stage Two consists of 54 apartments, over three floors. Again, a mixture of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments. Half the apartments face the park, and half face the "village green".

All apartments have air conditioning, and elevator access to 2 car park spaces in the basement.

The sizes of the apartments are typical. For example:

• larger: 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 study nook = 91 internal and 30 external = 121 sqm
  
• medium: 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 study room = 88 internal and 22 external = 110 sqm
• smaller: 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms = 83 internal and 14 external = 97 sqm
  

The larger apartment listed above is an end apartment, and so has good light from two sides. The living area has over 5 metres of glass sliding doors. The ensuite has both a bath and shower. There is a separate laundry. The bedrooms are well separated, and the second bedroom is near the bathroom.

For the medium apartment listed above, both bedrooms have views. The bedrooms are well separated, and the second bedroom is near the bathroom. The ensuite has both a bath and a shower. The separate study room is a real room (but with no windows) -- it is large enough to be a nursery, guest bedroom or media room.

The best thing about the development are the views from the parkside apartments. You just see green parklands for miles. The apartments are built on a hill, facing north and north east. They are up high, so even the lower floor has views. There is park immediately in front, then Oxley Creek, the Brisbane River and Indooroopilly Golf course. From the second floor apartments you can see city buildings -- I could see the clock on the Suncorp building. Great aspect, views and breezes. I really had low expectations, but was blown away by the views. And they can never be built out.

This development will be unique in the Sherwood / Graceville / Chemler area. It is well located, near the Sherwood State School, and walking distance to Woolworths in the Sherwood village, and the railway station at Sherwood. Here is a link to an area map.

In stages one and two, most of the 2 bedroom parkview apartments have sold. There are no one bedrooms that have park views. All of the 3 bedrooms have parkviews, and most of these have not sold. Price ranges are below, and when compared to FKP's development at Albion, these prices look like bargains for what you are getting:

1 bedoom apartment	2 bedroom apartment	3 bedroom apartment
$399,000 - $439,000AUD	$560,000 - $609,000AUD	$735,000 - $789,000AUD