The Urbis Apartment Market Essentials is the most comprehensive national apartment survey in Australia and the only survey where sales data for apartment projects with 25 or more units is collected at the time of contract rather than at settlement.
Our brightest minds analyse the data quarterly to provide you with the latest market activity and future supply pipeline. Discover more apartment trends in our National Apartment Essentials Snapshot.
Snapshot 2023 Q3:
- Price per Square Metre rates continue to escalate – In Q3 2023, square metre rates increased by 9% from the previous quarter to $14,350 per square metre for projects at Presales stage nationally. This reflects the emerging reality of pricing required to meet construction costs.
- Owner Occupiers dominate – Owner occupiers continue to make up the majority of new apartment purchases. Investors are simply not as incentivised as they once were to buy property off-the-plan compared with an existing build. Despite higher rents, only a shallow pool of investors are battling through the cost of finance and economic uncertainty to participate in the new apartment market.
- Activity levels dropping – Supply impacts are being felt across the property industry. As we track projects on a quarterly basis we can see a clear picture of what is happening in the market. The most dramatic impact can be seen in the declining number of projects progressing to Presales. In Q3 2023 only 16 projects with 1,900 apartments launched to the market in Presales. This is about one third of the quarterly average between 2018 and 2022, or a reduction of 64% by volume.
- Build to Rent continues upward momentum – In Q3 2023, the pipeline of Build-to-Rent (BTR) apartments grew by 15%. Victoria remains the epicentre of BTR activity, making up 49% of the total pipeline. The housing market will continue to rely on BTR to help elevate supply levels overall.
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Get in touch with one of our local, on the ground, team members today to discuss what’s happening in your market.
Victoria – Mark Dawson and Dylan Gray
New South Wales – Alex Stuart
Queensland – Paul Riga, Monique Ryan and Lynda Campbell
Western Australia – David Cresp