I’m the Bees Nees team member who specialises in this exciting area, and in the posts below you’ll find plenty of info on the latest local events and property news. If you’d like recent stats on the local market download our research team’s South Brisbane “Market in a Nutshell”
Rob Honeycombe
ps: What would your property sell for? Please give me a buzz on 0423 332 022 or read more about me.
In just a few weeks the most unique of South Brisbane apartment buildings will be completed. An innovative housing concept the 146 apartments in Hope Street will be split between local low-income workers and residents moved from homelessness. We believe it’s a great initiative to address homelessness in Brisbane’s inner city and were lucky enough to have a quick tour of the building this week.
Local rents dipped slightly in the last quarter of 2011, according to new stats released by the Residential Tenancies Authority. The median rent for a 2 bedroom apartment dropped $10 to $500 per week, reflecting the quieter rental market and caution from landlords.
Rents are up 6% on the same time a year earlier ($470/week) so overall it’s good news for investors. The CBD’s workforce continues to be a big driver of demand for this neighbourhood and crossing the river saves tenants $60 (the median for postcode 4000 is $560/week). And they can live on the doorstep of all our local lifestyle amenities!
January has started with a real rush and enquiry to our South Brisbane office from tenants is the busiest we’ve seen in some years. We’re expecting the RTA data will show 2012 starting as a great year for local investors.
Note: this RTA data is collated by postcode so includes new bonds lodged throughout 4101: South Brisbane, South Bank, West End and Highgate Hill
If you would like a rental appraisal for your property just give our head of Property Management – Annie von Rudzinksi a call on 07 3214 6899.
For median rent information visit http://www.whatrentmyhome.com.au/
One of the challenges of building in Brisbane’s inner-city suburbs is that there’s not a lot of room to spread out. New buildings almost always cover their complete site area so until the ground floor is completed (and earthworks and basements can take months) builders are forced to take over footpaths and sometimes even whole lanes of their adjoining streets.
There’s currently a number of local construction sites with orange-vested people out the front. Slowing us down, directing us around and turning us back. Merivale Street is one of South Brisbane’s busiest roads, as the east-bound off-ramp from the Go Between Bridge. So the workers on “Station 16″ apartments (pictured) have a lot of traffic to contend with and 2 lanes get pushed back to 1. It’s annoying for everyone but impossible to avoid.
It’s worth a quick drive down Grey Street at the moment. With scaffolding starting to come down on two of the iner-city’s biggest construction sites you can get a first look at the mammoth extension to the Convention Centre (pictured today) and, directly across the street, the new Queensland headquarters for the ABC.
The ABC’s 400+ staff will be moving in early in the New Year so local landlords should benefit from that extra demand. We understand parking will be an issue for them so no doubt there’ll be interest in moving nearby. The extra crowds at the Convention Centre will no doubt boost demand for our local hotel rooms and there’s always positive spin-offs for the area when we have more visitors spending money.
Good times indeed for South Bank!
Our median sales prices are down on last year, but have retained much of the growth of the last decade. Overall we’d suggest it’s hard to call any strong price trend in South Brisbane’s market so far this year. One clear change is the number of transactions – the 2nd quarter of 2011 has been busier than the first but we’re still on track to record less apartment sales in 2011 than we’ve had in over a decade. Why? Market uncertainty, plus many local property owners have withdrawn their properties from sale (or not listed at all) awaiting stronger prices.
If you’d like a sales market update for your property please call our South Brisbane specialist, Rob Honeycombe on 0423 332 022 or 07 3214 6800
Last weekend marked the 90th birthday of our local high school and on behalf of all local real estate agents we owe you a big thankyou! The respect Brisbane State High has earned as an outstanding education facility has led to its neighbourhood’s real estate increasing in price. Without any doubt.
We’ve just sold a house nearby and the Brisbane State High catchment was a crucial drawcard for more than half the buyer enquiry we received. Familes from as far afield as Aspley made the drive to Highgate Hill in the hope of securing a home, and importantly an address that is inside the line on the map. And this is a common story.
If you’re a Highgate Hill real estate agent, a South Brisbane real estate agent, a West End real estate agent, or even an agent handling those parts of Woolloongabba real estate that are within the catchment, you owe the school a huge thankyou. Local home owners who’ve sent their kids to BSHS have had the double-benefit: a great school and solid home prices.
South Brisbane is a happening place. I snapped this crane on the way past the new Station 16 Apartments in Merivale St this morning, and this is just one of a number of projects underway in the suburb right now. Cranes are also towering over new apartment at the southern end of Cordelia Street and the apartment building for Common Ground Queensland in Hope Street.
Residential projects are also in early stages in Peel and Russell Streets along with the long-awaited South Point next to South Bank Rail. Add in the massive works on the Convention Centre expansion (due for compeltion this year) and the new ABC headquarters, both on Grey Street, and the new Children’s Hospital, and we’ve probably not seen this extent of works for many years.
It’s exciting stuff for South Brisbane property owners.
We like to use the 2 bed apartment rents as our benchmark and across inner-Brisbane they rose 4% in the 3 months to June 30th. Across wider Brisbane City they rose just 1% and there’s no doubt some pockets are witnessing stronger demand than others. Rents in this 4101 peninsula dropped $20 to $480 after a $30 rise in the March quarter. So while the trend is up the market is still finding its way. We added just 31 homes to the local rental pool in the June quarter, and while some new apartment projects are underway there’s good reason to expect rents to grow further.
Note: RTA stats quoted here cover all of postcode 4101 including South Brisbane, Highgate Hill and West End
If you would like a rental appraisal for your property just give our head of Property Management – Annie von Rudzinksi a call on 07 3214 6899.
For median rent information visit www.whatrentmyhome.com.au
Another happy, bubbling crowd at the annual West End State School Fiesta yesterday. It’s a real treat for the senses – the smells of dozens of different international foods, the live bands, the excited chatter of the kids, the WWWWOOOOOSH of the rides flinging their passengers through the air. Congrats go to all the parents, staff and students who put in so much effort. Organising Fiesta takes a mountain of volunteer hours and gives the broader community a chance to support the school.
This year Bees Nees very own company chairman Boris called in to say hi and hand out some balloons. Can’t keep that bee away from a good party!
I love the sight of a forest of cranes! I snapped this driving past the new Queensland’s Children’s Hospital in Vulture Street. They’re spending $1.4 billion on the place and it’s due to be completed in 2014.
It’s one of those projects that’s so big and is taking so long that you forget it’s there. But for home buyers looking at the areas nearby – South Brisbane, Highgate Hill and Woolloongabba especially – we’d suggest it’s a key piece of infrastructure that you shouldn’t overlook. With 360 beds this hospital is going to draw thousands of new workers to the area. Thousands. And they all need a place to live.
