Recent Brisbane City Apartment Sales

M on Mary
Apt 1506, 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - $310,000

Charlotte Towers
Apt 4011, 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $390,000
Apt 2804, 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - $311,000
Apt 3602 - 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $410,000

Casino Towers
Apt 2306, 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - $310,000

Riverplace
Apt 277, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $600,000
Apt 157, 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $552,000
Apt 175, 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $552,500
Apt 234, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $772,000

Aurora
Apt 528, 2 bed, 2 bath, 2 car - $808,000

Admiralty Towers Two
Apt 3, 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car - $975,000
Apt 95, 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car - $1,350,000
Apt 100, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $730,000

Felix
Apt 216, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $520,000

Admiralty Quays
Apt 49, 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car - $1,075,000

More the most part, these prices are similar to prices that were being achieved 7 years ago.  Riverplace has had the biggest increase in value over this period.

Brisbane City Apartment Sales

Recent sales in November and December 2016:

Parklands

Apt 3104 - 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $590,000

Apt 3036 - 3 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $650,000

Charlotte Towers

Apt 1207 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $460,000

Apt 1502 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $490,000

Apt 1704 - 1 bed, 1 bath, 0 car - $322,500

Apt 602 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $510,000

Riparian

Apt 4301 - 3 bed, 3 bath, 2 car - $2,562,000

Admiralty Towers One

Apt 135 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $615,000

Apt 21 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $720,000

Admiralty Towers Two

Apt 29 - 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car - $1,059,000

Meriton Infinity

Apt 2907 - 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $420,000

Apt 5006 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $600,000

Apt 5406 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $580,000

Riverplace

Apt 109 - 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $516,800

Festival Towers

Apt 2905 - 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $390,000

Aurora

Apt 248 - 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $400,000

Capital gains were best for direct riverfront buildings and worst for the large apartment towers built by Devine (Charlotte Towers and Festival Towers and Aurora).  The Devine developers now run Metro.

Brisbane apartment market looking grim

According to the CoreLogic RP Data Home Value Index, dwelling values were absolutely flat across the combined capitals during December, with negative movements in Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra being offset by a rise in dwelling values across the remaining five capital cities. The Sydney housing market was the main drag on the December results, with dwelling values down 1.2%, while values were down 1.5% in Adelaide and 1.1% in Canberra, and down 0.5% for Brisbane apartments.

See full report here.

Brisbane apartment prices (to 31 December 2015):

December 2015 - down 0.5%

Quarter - no change

Year on Year - up 1.8%
Median price based on settled sales of Brisbane apartments over the quarter - $390,000

This is not a good result for the Brisbane apartment market for 2015.

The long term view for the Brisbane apartment market looks very uncertain.

There are a huge number of apartments being constructed.  There are also a number of new hotels opening, which impacts the short term rental markets (for example,  negatively impacting rents in apartment buildings such as Charlotte Towers, Aurora, Felix, Casino Towers and Festival Towers).  At present, from my informal survey, rents are decreasing in Brisbane and vacancy periods are significantly increasing.  This will only get worse.  I am not the only one say this.  See AFR article.

It is likely that valuations for new apartments sold off the plan in Brisbane will come in lower than the contract price, which may impact whether non-cash buyers will be able to settle.

My prediction for 2016 is that we may see values fall in 2nd tier buildings and remain flat in prestige buildings.  Rents will likely continue to decrease.  It looks grim.  What happened to the Gold Coast about 5 years ago (remember, Soul, Hilton and Oracle) may happen in Brisbane this year or next.

Recent Brisbane Apartment Sales

iStay River City - 79 Albert St

Apt 1201, 1 bed, 1 bath - sold on 27 July for $335,000

Charlotte Towers - 128 Charlotte St

Apt 2404 - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 27 July for $340,000
Apt 1201 - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 18 July for $365,000
Apt 4403 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 29 May for $650,000
Apt 2803 - 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - sold on 2 May for $495,000

Skyline - 30 Macrossan St

Apt 53 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 27 July for $603,000
Apt 193 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 2 June for $618,500
Apt 31 - sold on 16 May for $750,000

M on Mary - 70 Mary St

Apt 1205 - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 2 July for $322,500
Apt 4302 - 5 bed, 3 bath, 3 car - sold on 31 May for $1.9M
Apt 1009  - 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - sold on 26 May for $365,000
Apt 506  - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 10 May for $395,000

Festival Towers - 108 Albert St

Apt 3807 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 30 June for $516,000
Apt 1503 - 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - sold on 25 June for $460,000
Apt 4007 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 10 June for $541,000
Apt 704 - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 5 June for $298,500
Apt 2610 - 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - sold on 3 June for $400,000
Apt 905 - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 2 June for $319,500
Apt 2510 - 1 bed, 1 bath, no car - sold on 22 May for $350,000
Apt 2301 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 9 May for $525,000
Apt 508 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 8 May for $475,000

Felix - 26 Felix St

Apt 217 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 29 June for $580,000

Riverplace - 82 Boundary St

Apt 92 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 27 June for $645,000
Apt 147 - 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - sold on 23 June for $551,000
Apt 52 - 2 bed, 1 bath, 2 car - sold on 7 May for $650,000

Admiralty Towers One - 35 Howard St

Apt 44 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 8 June for $810,000
Apt 146, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 12 May for $585,000

Infinity - 43 Herschel St

Apt 3807 - sold on 27 May for $400,000
Apt 4303 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 26 May for $630,000
Apt 6304 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 20 May for $640,000

212 Margaret St

Apt 82 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 26 May for $555,000

Admiralty Quays - 32 Macrossan St

Apt 137 - 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 cars - sold on 12 May for $1,100,000
Apt 34 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 2 May for $850,000

Riparian - 71 Eagle St

Apt 4302 - 1 bed, 2 bath, 2 car - sold on 8 May for $1.5M

Admiralty Towers Two - 501 Queen St

Apt 166 - 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car sold on 28 April for $979,900

Aurora - 420 Queen St

Apt 301 - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - sold on 26 April for $627,500

Quay West - 132 Alice St

Apt 103 - 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - sold on 24 April for $510,000

Recent Brisbane City Apartment Sales

Based on recent apartment sales in the Brisbane CBD area (resales, not off the plan), it looks like the market is strengthening.

Skyline, 30 Macrossan Street

• Apt 242, 2 bedrooms - reported sold at $725,000
• Apt 73, 2 bedrooms - reported sold at $660,000
• Apt 121, 3 bedrooms - reported sold at $715,000
• Apt 113, 2 bedrooms - reported sold at $602,000
• Apt 125, 1 bedroom - reported sold at $347,000
• Apt 173, 2 bedrooms - $588,000

M on Mary, 70 Mary Street

• Apt 2202, 1 bed plus study - no car - $362,500

Aurora, 420 Queen Street

• Apt 245, 2 bed, 1 bath - $620,000
• Apt 435, 2 bed, 1 bath - $556,000

Riparian, 71 Eagle Street

• Apt 4305, 3 bedrooms - $1,850,000

Riverplace

• Apt 215, 1 bed - $510,000
• Apt 37, 2 bed - $690,000

Casino Towers, 151 George Street

• Apt 2002, 2 bedrooms - $690,000

Brisbane Apartments

A Brisbane real estate agent who sells CBD apartments (Hannah Schuhmann) produced an interesting map that shows some of the larger apartment buildings in Brisbane city.  Those buildings were designed for residents and long term tenants.  However, most of these buildings are now mixed -- the onsite manager is running a short term rental pool, and is pretending to operate a hotel.  (Oaks is the predominate manager of the listed buildings on the map.)

It is interesting that this same real estate agent, who is selling an apartment in Metro 21 states, as a feature of Metro 21:

"No hotel-style accommodation within the building".

Recent Apartment Sales in Brisbane City

• Charlotte Towers, Apt 1504, 1 bed, 1 car, sold on 9 April 2013 for $410,000
• Felix, Apt 116, 2 bedrooms, sold on 30 March 2013 for $515,000
• Aurora, Apt 234, 2 bedrooms, sold at auction on 24 March 2013 for $548,500
• Charlotte Towers, Apt 501, 1 bedroom, 1 car, sold on 21 March for $415,000
• Skyline, Apt 61, 3 bedrooms, sold on 13 March for $710,000

Recent Brisbane City Apartment Sales

• Evolution Apartments, 18 Tank Street, Apt 225, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sold for $500,000 (previous owner had paid $762,000 off-the-plan from Citimark)
• Skyline Apartments, 30 Macrossan Street, Apt 333, sold for $750,000 (previous owner had paid $810,000 off-the-plan)
• Midtown Apartments, 127 Charlotte Street, Apt 1203, sold by developer for $432,500
• Aurora, 420 Queen Street, Apt 376, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 107 sqm, sold for $585,000
• Riverplace, 82 Boundary Street, Apt 275, 1 bedroom plus study, sold for $481,000 (previous owner had paid $525,000 in 2008).

Recent Brisbane Apartment Sales

Recent sales:

• Riparian, 71 Eagle Street, 3 bedrooms on level 44, sold for $2.3 million
• Charlotte Towers, 128 Charlotte St, Apt 1903, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, sold for $465,000 (after being on the market for some time)
• River City, 79 Albert St, Apt 2706, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, sold for $420,000
• River City, 79 Albert St, Apt 2106, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, sold for $430,000
• Admiralty Towers One, 35 Howard Street, Lot 110, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sold for $535,000
• Roma Street Parklands, Apt 6008, 3 bedrooms, sold for $1,220,000
• Riverplace, 82 Boundary Street, Apt 82, 2 bedrooms, sold for $645,000
• Casino Towers, 151 George Street, Apt 1604, 1 bedroom, sold for $347,000
• Festival Towers, 108 Albert St, Apt 3402, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, $495,000
• Aurora Towers, 420 Queen St, Apt 568, 2 bedrooms, $750,000

Brisbane Apartment Recent Auction Results

River Place - 82 Boundary Street, Apt 192, 2 bedrooms, sold for $605,000
Aurora - 420 Queen Street, Apt 286 - passed in
Skyline, 30 Macrossan Street, Apt 304 - passed in
Admiralty Quays, 32 Macrossan Street, Apt 95 - passed in

Oaks Aurora Towers - Recent Sales

Recent sales in Oaks Aurora Towers, an apartment building at 420 Queen Street that is managed by the onsite manager as a short term serviced apartment complex.

• Apt 316, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sold in June for $582,500
• Apt 84, 2 bedrooms, sold in May for $512,500
• Apt 439, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, sold in May for $500,000
• Apt 289, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom (no car), sold in May for $420,000
• Apt 356, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathroom, sold in April for $600,000
• Apt 514, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathroom, sold in March for $605,000
• Apt 368, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 car, sold in March for $428,000

Highest priced sale this year:

• Apt 626, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathroom, 2 car, sold in January for $1,255,000 (after being listed for over 250 days for sale according to online databases).

Queen Street Proposal

Proposed building by Grocon for the failed Trilogy site in Queen Street.  Aurora Towers on the far left.  The proposed building is not riverfront, but on the far side of the road from the river.  Newspaper reports say that national law firm Freehills has agreed to rent the top 3 floors.  I wonder if this building will get off the ground, or be like Trilogy Tower and never be built?

Recent Brisbane City Apartment Sales

Here are the recent reported apartment sales in the larger Brisbane downtown buildings.  Most of these sales closed in the period from late October to early December 2011.

Charlotte Towers

• Apt 2110, 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $382,000

Aurora

• Apt 393, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $665,000
• Apt 236, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $515,000
• Apt 512, 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $582,000

Festival Towers

• Apt 3401, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $475,000
• Apt 1707, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $440,000
• Apt 2110, 1 bed, 1 bath, ? car - $350,000

Felix

• Apt 356, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $505,000
• Apt 276, 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $492,000

River Place (82 Boundary Street)

• Apt 302, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $690,000
• Apt 326, 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car - $1,497,000
• Apt 231, 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $423,000
• Apt 110, 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $410,000

Skyline

• Apt 55, 1 bed - $320,000
• Apt 131, 3 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $700,000

Admiralty Quays

• Apt 9, 3 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $900,000
• Apt 67, 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car - $580,000
• Apt 135, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car - $780,000

Admiralty Towers Two

• Apt 57, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car (103 sqm) - $660,000

No reported recent sales (last October to early December) in Casino Towers, Quay West or Admiralty Towers One.

Ray White Auction

From Ray White:  "The Urban Living Group auctions were held last Saturday at The Emporium Hotel where 52 properties went up for sale under the hammer.  A great day was had with a crowd of over 200 people attending the event and 79 registered bidders on the day.  The auctions kicked off with a bang selling 7 out of the first 8 properties, with 13 out of the 26 in the first section selling at a 50% success rate. The second section of the day was far tougher with 7 out of the 26 properties selling under the hammer, but with negotiations on multiple properties we believe we will have over 80% sold by the end of next week."

Charlotte Towers

Apt 3101 sold for $313,000 (1 bed, no car)

Aurora

Apt 236 passed in at $490,000, now listed for sale at $525,000 (2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car)

Apt 458 passed in at $450,000, now listed for sale at $480,000 (2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car)

Apt 534 passed in at $925,000

212 Margaret

Apt 2103 passed in at $340,000, now listed at $375,000 (1 bed, 1 bath, 1 car)

Admiralty Quays

Apt 67 at 32 Macrossan St did not sell at $560,000 (1 bed, 1 bath), but now listed as sold.

480 Queen St

A new building has been proposed for 480 Queen Street, on the site of the proposed Trilogy Tower. It is an office building. No apartments. 36 levels high. It will block some of the northeastern views of some of the Aurora apartments on the lower floors.

Recent Brisbane Auction Results

Just over a week ago, Ray White had an auction where 12 Brisbane inner city apartments went to auction. Only one sold at auction (1201 in UniLodge for just over $100,000). Over a week after the auction, most of the apartments that did not sell at the auction are still listed for sale. Why vendors decide to go to auction in Brisbane amazes me. These apartments are not selling at the prices listed below, so the market must be saying that they are worth less than this. And why buy an off the plan apartment for more than these prices? Some examples of the many apartments that Ray White was unable to sell:

• Felix, Apt 121, 1 bed, no car - failed to sell at or after auction, now listed for $330,000
• Felix, Apt 147, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car, end apartment - failed to sell at or after auction, now listed for $470,000
• Charlotte Towers, Apt 605, 1 bed, no car - failed to sell at or after auction, now listed for $315,000
• Charlotte Towers, Apt 2401, 1 bed, 1 car - failed to sell at or after auction, now listed for at the unrealistic price of $410,000
• Festival Towers, Apt 906, 1 bed, no car - failed to sell at or after auction, now listed for $320,000
• River Park Central - Apt 603, 2 bed, 2 bath - failed to sell at or after auction, now listed for $410,000
• River City, Apt 1803, 2 bed, 2 bath - failed to sell at or after auction, now listed for $433,000
• Aurora, Apt 626, 3 bed - failed to sell at or after auction, now listed for $1,300,000
• Grosvenor, Apt 1504, 3 bed - - failed to sell at or after auction, now listed for $1,800,000

Aurora Towers - Recent Sales

The following are all reported sales from December 2010 to now in Aurora. (If you ignore the last digit, the remaining digits in the apartment number give you the floor level.)

Aurora Towers, 420 Queen St, Brisbane

Apt 93, $495,000

Apt 266, 2 bed, 2 bath, $525,000

Apt 169, $410,000

Apt 149, 2 bed, 2 bath, $490,000

Apt 569, 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, $857,500

Example apartments currently for sale include:

Apt 222, 2 bed, 1 bath, listed at $530,000

2 bed, 1 bath, no list price

Apt 311, 2 bed, 2 bath, $650,000

Oaks

The Oaks Group manages a number of Brisbane apartments, including Charlotte Towers, Aurora, Festival Towers and Felix.

The Australian reports:

"Auditors had also warned of "inherent uncertainty" regarding Oaks's ability to continue as a going concern, with the company owing more than $70m to ANZ and NAB banks."

See The Australian

"The directors of Oaks yesterday proved they had not given up, issuing a brief statement to say that the company had been presented with a counter takeover offer believed to be pitched at 60 cents which it was examining."

Courier Mail

Trilogy Definitely Not Going Ahead - One less hotel for Brisbane

The Trilogy building, which was to be a mix of apartments, offices and a Mirvac hotel, is officially dead.

Despite reportedly good off-the-plan sales, it is now reported that the current owners of the land are selling to a Melbourne developer who will build an office tower on the site. This may impact some of the views from Aurora?

See Brisbane Times

How Many Apartments for Sale in Brisbane?

There has been some press recently about the number of apartments for sale in Queensland, and the slow sales rate. This may be the case for the Gold Coast, and for overpriced off-the-plan developments. But if you look at the quality buildings in Brisbane, there are very few apartments for sale.

For example:

• Quay West: 4 apartments for sale (two 2 beds; two 1 beds).
• Admiralty Quays: two 2 beds
• Admiralty Towers: one 2 bed at rear
• Admiralty Two: one 2 bed; one three bed
• Arbour on Grey: 2 apartments for sale (one 2 bed; one 3 bed).
• Saville SouthBank: zero

Across these buildings, that is less than 2% of the total apartments in these buildings for sale.

Some buildings have a large number of apartments for sale: Skyline, Aurora, Macrossan, & Riparian all have a number of apartments for sale. Strangely, The Grosvenor, which usually has no apartments for sale, has about 3 for sale at present.

So there may be an oversupply in some areas and for some buildings, but for the quality buildings, there are not that many available to purchase, particularly below the $900,000 price point. And the flooding of Brisbane does not appear to have impacted pricing of these apartments at all.