Brisbane’s riverfront market portrays some of the city’s most prestigious and most sought after residential properties. With limited supply, it is a market which has seen strong growth through the years. The latest edition of Place Advisory’s annual riverfront report analyses past sales data to see which type of apartment has performed best, riverfront or non-riverfront. We also take a look at which side of the Brisbane River has the best performing Riverfront apartments.
Riverfront vs Non-Riverfront Apartments 1987 - 2017
Source: RP Data, PriceFinder. Prepared by Place Advisory.
The graph above shows the number of sales and median prices for both, riverfront and non-riverfront apartments in Inner-Brisbane from 1987 – 2017 per six month period.
Past performances of riverfront apartments indicates that their prices tend to be much more volatile than their non-riverfront counterparts. At the end of the most recent six-month period ending September 2017, riverfront apartments recorded a median sale price of $650,000. This median price is at a 40.8% premium to non-riverfront apartments, which recorded a median price of $461,500 during the same period.
As has been well noted by the media and previous reports by Place Advisory, sales volumes have been steadily declining since they peaked in 2014. During the most recent six-month period ending September 2017, there were a total of 1879 apartment sales in Inner-Brisbane which consisted of 147 riverfront and 1732 non-riverfront sales. Sales volumes have not been this low since the six month period ending March 2011, when 1,772 Inner-Brisbane apartment sales occurred.
Growth Rates of Riverfront and Non-Riverfront Apartments
Source: RP Data, PriceFinder. Prepared by Place Advisory.
The data shows that apartments of both types have performed better over the longer term, with capital growth more difficult to come by over the past 10 years. In all periods except over the most recent five years ending September 2017, non-riverfront apartments have outperformed the more expensive riverfront apartments. The highest rate of capital growth has occurred in non-riverfront apartments over the last 30 year period, recorded at 6.4% per annum. In contrast, the last 12 month period ending September 2017, saw non-riverfront apartments decline in median price by 3.9% whilst and median price of riverfront apartments decline by 10.3%.
Where Are the Best Performing Riverfront Apartments?
For the following analysis Place advisory has categorised Brisbane’s inner suburbs into north and south of the River precincts as well as the CBD precinct.
Riverfront Apartment Median Prices and Sales Volumes by Precinct 1997 – 2017
Source: RP Data, PriceFinder. Prepared by Place Advisory.
The above chart shows the median price and number of sales per 12 month periods for the North and South of the River precincts and the CBD precinct between the years 1997 and 2017.
CBD riverfront apartments only make up a small portion of Brisbane’s inner-city riverfront apartments. In the 12 month period ending September 2017, only 28 riverfront apartment transactions were recorded. In contrast, during the same period, there were 148 and 170 riverfront apartment sales in the South and North of the River precincts respectively.
However, The CBD precinct has recorded the highest median price of all precincts since the 12 month period ending September 2013, and has recently widened the gap with a current median price of $1,044,500. In the most recent 12 month period ending September 2017, the South and North of the River precincts recorded a median riverfront apartment price of $671,250 and $642,500 respectively.
Growth Rates by Precinct
Source: RP Data, PriceFinder. Prepared by Place Advisory.
The CBD precinct has been a strong performer for riverfront apartments over both the short and long term, consistently outperforming the other precincts, whilst riverfront apartments in the North of the River Precinct have proven to be better performers than those on the southern side. In the 12 months ending September 2017, median prices of riverfront apartments increased by 35.6% in the CBD, declined by 4.6% in the North of the River precinct and by 5.5% in the South of the River Precinct.
Interactive Map - Inner Brisbane Apartment Sales
Source: RP Data, PriceFinder. Prepared by Place Advisory.
The map of Inner-Brisbane is interactive. Scroll over different suburbs to receive information about riverfront and non-riverfront sales during the last 12 months ending September 2017.
As we look more closely at the suburbs of each precinct we see that Brisbane City in the CBD Precinct, which consists of Brisbane City and Spring Hill only, has the highest median riverfront apartment price of $1,044,500, recorded over 28 sales. The suburb also has the highest non-riverfront apartment price of $460,000 in the precinct as a result of 341 apartment sales over the past 12 months.
In the North of the River precinct, the highly desirable suburb of New Farm has recorded the highest median price for riverfront apartments at $725,000 over 57 sales. Non-riverfront apartments in the suburb slightly edge out Hamilton and Newstead – Bowen Hills to also record the highest median price for non-riverfront apartments, with a median price of $530,000 as a result of 152 sales.
In the South of the River Precinct, East Brisbane recorded the highest riverfront apartment median price of $1,174,500. However, this came after only two sales in the suburb. Bulimba recorded a riverfront apartment price of $780,000 over five sales. The Prestigious suburb of Bulimba also recorded the highest non-riverfront apartment price in Inner Brisbane with a median sale price of $610,000 over 95 sales.
Most Expensive Riverfront Apartment Sales
Source: RP Data, PriceFinder. Prepared by Place Advisory.
The above table outlines the most expensive waterfront apartment sales in the CBD, North of the River and South of the River precincts over the last 12 months ending September 2017.
“Riparian Plaza Apartments” in the CBD has recorded the three most expensive riverfront apartment sales in the CBD precinct over the last 12 months. The most expensive riverfront apartment sale in the CBD sold for $2,562,000. In the North of the River precinct, the most expensive riverfront apartment sale in Inner Brisbane was recorded for $6,150,000 in the apartment building “170 on Bowen.” In the south the of river precinct, “Scott Street” recorded the most expensive waterfront apartment sale of $4,675,000.
Summary
Brisbane’s inner-city riverfront apartments have proven to be a bit of a roller coaster over the past decade, and generally more volatile in terms of median prices when compared to Inner Brisbane’s more consistent and resilient non-riverfront apartments. The best performing riverfront apartments were commonly found in the CBD, while riverfront apartments north of the river consistently outperformed those on the southern side.