Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 29 November 2006
Much has been written in recent years about the trend to city living in Brisbane, and across Australia. Brisbane’s CBD and surrounding suburbs have witnessed extraordinary population growth since 2000, most easily seen in the residential towers transforming our skyline. What’s not often acknowledged is the impact on this trend by growing international student numbers. Australia is currently home to some 355,000 student visa holders and this has grown 25% since 2002 alone. Queensland accommodates around a quarter of these, so naturally there’s enormous benefits to Brisbane’s rental market.
The resident manager of one CBD ’super-tower’ recently told us around two-thirds of their new tenants were international students. With most of Brisbane’s education campuses located in the inner city this is where international students come to live and study. We’d argue they’re in many ways underpinning the CBD rental market in particular.
China has more than 83,000 students in Australia, while India and South Korea contribute large numbers and all three are fast growing markets. Our ‘traditional’ student nations of Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore are dropping slightly as competition for this lucrative market increases, but interestingly Australia’s appeal to non-Asian nations seems to be on the up – student numbers from Brazil (up 45%) and the Middle East (up 34%) rose sharply this past year.
With international education making up such a large market for Brisbane’s inner city rentals its fortunes certainly deserve more attention from those who’ve invested in the area. Both the UK and USA have seen slight reductions in their own international student inflows over the past year (5% and 1.3% respectively) but for now all looks good in Australia: our numbers grew 9.5% in the year to September.
Tags: Brisbane rents, international students Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane CBD, Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market, trends in Brisbane property | 2 Comments »
Posted by admin on 29 November 2006
The December 2nd opening of the new $100 million plus Gallery of Modern Art marks the completion of a significant growth phase for Brisbane’s cultural amenities. This remarkable, eye-catching piece of architecture overlooks the river and city at the western end of South Brisbane, and must surely put our arts precinct very clearly on the international map if it’s not already. Built to complement the Gallery of Art and house works from 1970 onwards, GOMA is grand in many ways: it has a floor area of some 24,000m2 (almost 6 acres) and a dramatic 18m high foyer. Admission is free so take the time to visit – apart from the international art collection there’s a children’s art centre and a cinematheque.
Coming on the heels of a $70m expansion of the State Library that almost doubled its size, and refurbs to both the Museum and the Gallery of Art, Brisbane now has a collection of cultural assets the envy of any city in the world.
And for those who question the expense: the new football stadium across the river from GOMA cost $279 million. Each has their place in a vibrant, modern Brisbane.
Tags: Gallery of Modern Art Brisbane, Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland Museum, Queensland State Library
Posted in Brisbane's future & new infrastructure, South Brisbane and South Bank | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 28 November 2006
Several men are in the locker room of a golf club. A mobile phone on a bench rings and a man engages the hands-free speaker and begins to talk. Everyone else in the room stops to listen. MAN: “Hello” WOMAN: “Honey, it’s me. Are you at the club?”
MAN: “Yes” WOMAN: “I’m at the shops and I’ve found this beautiful leather coat. It’s only $5,000. Is it okay if I buy it?” MAN: “Sure …go ahead if you like it that much.”
WOMAN: “Great! Oh, and one more thing. That penthouse on the river I wanted last year is back on the market. They’re asking $1.5 million” MAN: “Well, then go ahead and give them an offer of $1.4. They’ll probably take it. If not, we can go the extra 100 thousand. It’s really a pretty good price.” WOMAN: “OK. I’ll see you later! I love you so much!!” MAN: “Bye… I love you, too.”
The man hangs up. The other men in the locker room are staring at him in astonishment, mouths agape. He smiles and asks: “Anyone know who this phone belongs to?….”
Tags: bad but clean jokes, real estate jokes
Posted in just for fun! | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 15 November 2006
Brisbane’s inner city property values have gone up twice as fast as homes in outer suburbs, according to recent research. Valuers Herron Todd White drew a 5km radius from the GPO and found the median price there had jumped almost 500% since 1991, compared with just 243% for homes within the 20-25km radius. Interestingly the rates of growth were similar until 2001 so the past five years has seen Brisbane’s inner city really race ahead. HTW say urban renewal and the growth of café strips have contributed.
The population trend ‘downtown’ (and subsequent housing boom) now seems well entrenched in Australia but for an international comparison of property growth rates we took a quick look at the city that never sleeps. New York’s metro region has also well and truly outperformed suburban USA: its median house price grew 46% in the past 3 years while their national figure was 31%. NYC has had a long reputation as a desirable inner city lifestyle and over the past 15 years averaged annual price growth of 9% versus 5% nationally. Today a slice of the big apple will cost you AUD$656,500!
The link between a sought-after lifestyle and capital gains mightn’t be the only things inner city Brisvegas and NYC have in common: New Yorkers are experiencing strong job growth and now boast an unemployment rate of just 5.3%. Almost as good as Queensland’s 4.5%.
Tags: Brisbane home prices, Herron Todd White, New York, unemployment rate Australia, urban renewal Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 15 November 2006
Rental growth of 38% in just 18 months has seen postcode 4101 become one of this state’s most expensive places to rent a 2 bedroom apartment. Like much of the inner city, South Brisbane, West End and Highgate Hill is experiencing what we’d consider to be a strong undersupply of rental property. The median two bedroom in the area now costs $345 per week, the fifth highest for any Queensland postcode.
And here’s the interesting sideline to the story: It’s no surprise that in this tighter market tenants are staying put and many landlords are reluctant to upset a current tenant. And in the typical real estate office property managers are relatively junior members of staff and have little or no training in negotiating rental increases with tenants. So if a tenant started their lease two years ago their landlord will now be $90 per week out of pocket compared with the current market.
“Rental Market in a Nutshell” is a series of quick, easy to read research papers Bees Nees are now producing for inner Brisbane’s suburbs. Go to www.beesnees.com.au/useful_research.html to download your free copy.
Tags: Brisbane housing supply, property management Brisbane, Residential Tenancies Authority
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market, Highgate Hill, South Brisbane and South Bank, West End | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 14 November 2006
Family with a termite-ridden home were eager to get it sold, and after placing it on the market warned their children not to talk to anyone about the house. At an open house one suspicious man took the seven-year-old daughter aside and asked if the house had any secrets he should know. Her first reaction was to smile and ignore his question. But he became more persistent and finally she confessed there was one secret but she could not tell it to him. “Now we’re getting somewhere,” he said. “Tell me the secret. I promise I won’t tell anyone.” She looked him straight in the eye before blurting out, “We have monsters in our sewer!”
Tags: bad but clean jokes, real estate jokes
Posted in just for fun! | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 2 November 2006
With Brisbane’s demand for tourism and business accommodation bounding ahead we’re now seeing an interesting industry ‘takeover’. In a $7million deal Oaks Hotels and Resorts has bought the management rights to the new “Charlotte Towers” and its 416 apartments in the CBD. Corporate managers of the larger apartment buildings aren’t unusual but the move to effectively convert buildings designed for long term residents into short stay accommodation is raising a few eyebrows.
The Oaks Group is the most visible operator with this latest acquisition now its 5th in Brisbane’s CBD: it recently added the 253 apartment “Felix” and the 136 apartment “212 On Margaret” to its portfolio.
The move should be no surprise: Brisbane’s hotel room supply is not keeping up and the cost and lead time to build a new one means tempting existing apartment owners is the best option. But where do the long term tenants go? And how do the owner-residents feel about sharing their lift with holiday-makers? Brisbane’s own residents who’ve moved to the city heart in recent years, along with the very strong international student market are now been forced further afield. We’re seeing a clear trend to city fringe areas with stronger than usual demand for suburbs like South Brisbane, Toowong and Newstead.
The final irony? Many of this city’s older hotels and studio apartments are being used for permanent accommodation, often with 2-3 students occupying one small room in a bid to save money! So where now for the budget hotel guests!?
Tags: 212 on Margaret Brisbane, body corporate issues Queensland, Charlotte Towers Brisbane, Felix Apartments Brisbane, international students Brisbane, Oaks Hotels and Resorts
Posted in Brisbane's rental market, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 2 November 2006
It’s hard to not comment on the traffic crisis that’s hit Brisbane over the past two weeks. Uncovered (or caused?) by resurfacing works, a tiny sliver of a crack in one onramp of the Riverside Expressway brought Brisbane’s traffic network to its knees. Patience and solutions were both short on the ground.
Some commentators are already claiming that inner city property will boom further as a result. But even those of us that live close to the CBD have cars and while you can walk more often than those in the ‘burbs, it’s rare to find any city household without a car. We should encourage people out of their cars but no-one will walk more than 20 minutes in the 30 degree-plus subtropical heat of Brisbane. And until we have a light-rail system or similar efficient utility to match the convenience of Melbourne trams our cars will remain popular.
Additional river crossings have to be built or, despite the increasing appeal of city living (and to some extent because of it), inner Brisbane will choke on its popularity. Brisbane City Council is currently considering the future of the Hale Street Link from South Brisbane to Milton, and while our new office fronts the route (and we’d cop more noise and interruptions), we hope the short-term vision of some community leaders does not prevent this critical piece of infrastructure being built.
Brisbane’s population growth will not stop and this latest incident highlights our lack of political fortitude in recent years in making the tough decisions.
Tags: Brisbane City Council, Brisbane traffic, Hale Street Link Brisbane, population growth Brisbane, Riverside Expressway Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's future & new infrastructure | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 1 November 2006
Got to love these online polls…. Latest survey by www.realestate.com.au shows Australians would prefer to live next to a bikie or a crying baby ahead of a nosy old lady! Seventy per cent said the worst neighbour is a non-stop party animal, but almost 5 times as many people rated interfering oldies as worse than bikies!
If we’re to improve our neighbourly relations maybe we should take a leaf from our UK cousins: In a similar poll almost 20% of them have admitted to getting about “without their kit on” outside their home and, perhaps unsurprisingly, only 16% say they mind if their neighbour ‘does an Adam and Eve’ in the back yard!
Tags: Brisbane neighbourhoods, www.realestate.com.au
Posted in just for fun! | No Comments »
