Brisbane and Gold Coast new apartment sales on the increase
Posted on Tuesday, May 22 2012 at 4:19 PM
New apartment sales in Brisbane are picking up, with Queensland’s capital city experiencing its strongest March quarter in almost 10 years.
Colliers
International Research
and Forecast Report says there were 365 unconditional sales
totalling $208 million in the March quarter, which is Brisbane’s best result
since 2003.
“This may suggest
that certain stimulus measures coupled with consecutive interest rate changes
had a positive impact on the new apartment market,” the Colliers International
report says.
“Underlying
fundamentals remain strong with above average quarterly transaction volumes and
positive price growth.”
Inner-Brisbane’s
vacancy rate also tightened (1.4 per cent), while rental growth for one-bedroom
units climbed eight per cent. Rental growth for two-bedroom units in Buranda,
Dutton Park and Woolloongabba increased by 20 per cent and three-bedroom units
in Ascot and Hamilton were also popular.
“Demand for CBD
apartments increased over the quarter, with 55 unconditional sales recorded
across four projects,” Colliers International says.
“This is the
strongest result since the same period in 2011.”
The Gold Coast
appears to be getting some of its glimmer back – the glitter strip
reported an increase in new apartment sales, which is the first increase in 12
months and 49 per cent higher than figures from the previous year.
“High-rise sales
within the Broadbeach precinct were reignited during the March quarter, with a
total of 23 occurring, making it the best performing high-rise precinct in
terms of sales volume.
“The low-rise
sector was the standout performer during the March quarter, with a total of 46
unconditional sales, overtaking the high-rise sector sales rate for the first
time in six years.”
Overall, Colliers
International believes the March results are extremely encouraging and
oversupply on the Gold Coast is slowly being absorbed.
“The recent
announcement of a 50 basis point reduction to the cash rate by the Reserve Bank
will result in a welcome lift in confidence. If this confidence results in
potential buyers looking to purchase, they may be surprised at the limited
choice of new apartments across the Gold Coast.
“Based on the
current quarterly selling rate, the supply of new apartments could be taken up
within 2.75 years. If the sales rate increases, this timeframe will be reduced.
Availability will continue to fall with no new stock entering the market in the
short term. This will lead to supply shortages in some areas, particularly the
low-rise sector.”
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