There has been a lot written in the media about the Inner Brisbane apartment market following record levels of apartment development that has taken place during recent years. As residential development now begins to slow down, Place Advisory has analysed apartments in the Inner Brisbane area over the past five years that have settled for the first time between 2013 and 2017 inclusive and then again resold.
Throughout the five years from 2013 to 2017 there were a total of 467 new apartments resold throughout Inner Brisbane over 191 new buildings. While not all apartments achieved a stable result, an average of 0.7% capital growth per annum was recorded for these new apartment resales. Overall, this is a positive result considering wider market conjecture has suggested the Brisbane apartment market has been declining in recent years. The average settlement price on resale of these new apartments was $717,417.
Best Suburbs
Whilst sales results across the market for new sales has been highly varied, some suburbs have shown that positive capital growth was not hard to find.
The popular suburb of New Farm has topped our list with an impressive average capital gain of 4.6% per annum over the resale of 30 brand new settled apartments between 2013 and 2017. New Farm’s restricted riverfront location, proximity to the CBD and desirable parks and restaurants, offering residents an appealing lifestyle, have been strong drivers of growth in the area. The other top four suburbs on our list of best performing new apartments were Toowong, Newstead, St Lucia and Teneriffe. All these regions promote a strong attachment to local amenity and are areas in high demand from local owners and renters alike.
Source: PriceFinder. Prepared by Place Advisory. Please Note, apartments held for less than one year were not included in calculations for average annual capital growth. Suburbs without at least five new apartment resales were excluded.
Source: Domain.com.au. One of Inner Brisbane’s best performing new apartment buildings, “Pier at Waterfront” in Newstead, the 3rd best performing suburb.
Worst Suburbs
Unfortunately, there has been some pain felt in some areas of Inner Brisbane for owners of new apartments. Bowen Hills, located 3km to the north east of the CBD is home to some of the worst performing new apartment buildings in Inner Brisbane after recording average capital growth of -7.9% per annum over the 13 new apartment resales between 2013 and 2017. Other suburbs to feature on this list were Milton, Fortitude Valley, Hamilton and West End.
Source: PriceFinder. Prepared by Place Advisory. Please Note, apartments held for less than one year were not included in calculations for average annual capital growth. Suburbs without at least five new apartment resales were excluded.
Best Performing New Buildings in Inner Brisbane
Where are the best buildings to have bought in? Whilst each new residential building across Brisbane had very limited numbers of new resales, Place Advisory has identified the best buildings to have bought in. The number one building for average capital growth for new apartment resales was “170 on Bowen,” a luxury apartment building located along the riverfront in New Farm where three new apartments were bought and resold between 2013 and 2017 - averaging 12.5% capital growth per annum. This apartment building features large balconies and expansive floor plans with impressive views of the Brisbane skyline and Story Bridge with luxury fittings and spacious designs throughout. The building also boasts one of Brisbane’s most desirable and impressive penthouses.
The other top four apartment buildings in Inner Brisbane were, “Kurv” and “Pier at Waterfront,” both in Newstead, “Quartz Apartments” in Bulimba and “The Keelson” in Hamilton, one of the suburbs positives.
Source: PriceFinder. Prepared by Place Advisory. Please Note, apartments held for less than one year were not included in calculations for average annual capital growth. Buildings without at least two new apartment resales were excluded.
Source: Realestate.com.au. View of Story Bridge and the Brisbane CBD from “170 On Bowen.”
Further to this, Place Advisory has looked through each individual new apartment resale to find the best and worst performing new apartments in Inner Brisbane between 2013 and 2017.
Best Performing Individual Sales
Source: PriceFinder. Prepared by Place Advisory. Please Note, this table is based on average annual capital growth.
“Platinum on Kent” a small six apartment development in Hamilton, set back from the new high-rise apartment buildings that now occupy the riverfront in the suburb, is the unlikely winner of best new apartment resale in Inner Brisbane. The apartment is the first one in the complex to resell.
Of the other apartments to make this list, three come from a top five building, whilst “Trafalgar Residences,” a large scale apartment building in Woolloongabba is home to the fifth best new apartment in Inner Brisbane with views into the neighbouring “Gabba” Stadium.
Worst Performing Individual Sales
Lastly, is the unlucky list of worst performing new apartments in Inner Brisbane. The worst performing apartment is located in “The Milton”. Whilst the apartment is on a high floor with views of the Brisbane skyline and Brisbane River, in an apartment building with plenty of amenity, it just didn’t perform. Apartments in “Belise,” “Portside Wharf,” “The Green,” and another in “the Milton” round out the list of worst performing new apartments in Inner Brisbane.
Source: PriceFinder. Prepared by Place Advisory. Please Note, this table is based on average annual capital growth and not actual loss.
Summary
The Brisbane apartment market remains in the midst of recovery, offering substantial opportunities for purchasers today. Undoubtedly, the Brisbane apartment market has seen a soft landing through the recent cycle. Despite constant discussion that prices were expected to freefall, the market has stabilised and is likely to consolidate in the short term in preparation of the next cycle.