Brisbane’s New Apartment Supply Down as Buyers Look Towards Completed Product

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Certain precincts are expecting a considerable number of apartment settlements between now and the end of the year. Many developers are monitoring to see how these settlements go before deciding to launch anything new to the market.

Paul Riga View Profile

The decline in presales purchases can be largely explained in the lack of new projects launching to the market, with only three new projects yielding 146 apartments launching in the quarter. In addition, there were only 306 apartments approved for development in the quarter, in line with the low level of projects coming to the market.

Over 4,700 apartments, including in sold-out projects, are anticipated to settle across Inner Brisbane by the end of the year.

Despite the lack of new projects, demand for the right product at the right price is still there, with a number of projects pending launch gathering good interest from prospective buyers.

Mr Riga noted, “The number of resales within recently completed projects must also be taken into account.

“From our conversations within the market, we know that there has been solid interest and sales in recently built stock which has had to be resold, indicating that demand hasn’t disappeared and buyers are still active.”

In the coming quarters, Urbis anticipates that project launches won’t see any drastic increase, however, sales figures are not expected to register a further decline. Developers aren’t just sitting on their hands though.

“With the relative stability of the owner-occupier market in Brisbane, developer interest for the short-term has re-focused on townhouses, house and land packages, and more premium apartment product. 

“While the apartment space may have slowed, the fundamentals are still there. We are registering solid interstate migration and a decent level of rental absorption – many developers are now preparing to play their part in the next phase of the apartment movement in Brisbane,” said Mr Riga.