A quiet start to the new year for Brisbane apartment market

The lack of new product has allowed for the continued absorption of actively selling projects. The nature of transactions in this quarter has been varied, with investor and owner-occupier projects sharing sales.

“It’s encouraging to see activity across these buyer groups, with four projects registering average prices upwards of $1 million, whilst at the other end of the spectrum a number of projects had average selling prices around $400,00,” Mr Riga said.

It is clear that there is still an underlying level of demand for the Inner Brisbane market, however, with the only new project launched becoming the highest selling in the quart and transacting 45% of its stock.

Whilst we are certainly not seeing the demand levels experienced three to four years ago, developers are putting more effort into their projects and this is being reflected in the product being launched and subsequently in solid sales results.

“More expert consultants are being used and more time is being taken to ensure the product fits the buyer brief. Importantly, figuring out the end user and what they want is being referred to in this process more than it ever has,” Mr Riga commented.

There are potentially up to eight new projects in the pipeline over the coming 12 months, which may launch over 1,000 new apartments to the market. In the meantime, we’ve seen four projects enter the construction phase and one project in the Inner South precinct top out in the quarter.

The next 12 months will continue to be challenging for developers as the post-election impact takes effect, and purchaser access to finance remains constrained.

“Despite these challenges, there are still opportunities in the market and many of our clients are gearing up to take advantage of the solid supply and demand principles that the Inner Brisbane offers,” Mr Riga said.

• Weighted average sale price recorded: $644,877
• 1 project launch in the quarter: 56 new apartments
• 334 apartments approved in the quarter

Contact our Property Economics and Research team to find out more.