Posted by admin on 30 January 2012
Now Brisbane's 2nd tallest: Aurora Tower
The latest building to claim the title of Brisbane’s tallest is nearing completion. At 74 storeys Harry Triguboff’s Meriton Developments has powered through construction of “Soleil” in the CBD’s Admiralty precinct and will soon wrap up its 464 apartments.
The tower is just up the street from the previous title-holder, Aurora, completed in 2006 at a piddly 67 storeys with 478 homes. Harry of course has his next Brisbane project well under construction, bigger and better: the 81 level, 546 apartment Infinity Tower in North Quay.
To give you some idea, the top of the new Soleil building is near enough to the height of the lookout at Mt Coot-tha. Yep, it’s that high…
We’ve written before about the evolution of “super-towers” in our CBD but one topic not often discussed is the dangers of living so high above the ground. Families with kids are a more common sight in our apartments and new changes will soon be introduced to building laws to limit accidental falls. We were recently told that one inner-Brisbane primary school has 32% of their 700 students living in apartments. It’s the little kids that need plenty of supervision and the changes will cover all windows over 2m off the ground (pretty much the second floor of any building). New buildings will need reinforced screens or window locks to prevent openings past 125mm.
The Meriton projects in Brisbane’s CBD don’t include open balconies in their designs and balconies are one hazard that might be impossible to regulate for safety. How do you prevent light furniture being pushed to the edge, a chair used as a climbing point? Does every balcony door need to meet pool fence guidelines? Are you feeling sick in the stomach too, just thinking about a child crawling near a highrise handrail?
This isn’t a new hazard and you’d have to say that reports of injury are remarkably scarce. But we are becoming more vertical as a city.
Demographer Bernard Salt called it the “Manhattan-isation” of Brisbane and it’s happening whether we want it or not, with all its challenges and opportunities. Many of the residents of these new super-towers will thrive in their homes, and we pray those with small children will take every possible care.
Posted in Brisbane CBD, architecture and renovation, trends in Brisbane property | 1 Comment »
Posted by admin on 20 January 2012
Local rents were flat in the second half of 2011, according to new stats released by the Residential Tenancies Authority. The median rent for a 2 bedroom apartment remained at $560 per week during both the September and December quarters, reflecting the quieter rental market and caution from landlords.
Rents are down slightly ($15) on the same time a year earlier but as the graphs show the trend is slowly upwards. Postcode 4000 remains Brisbane most expensive by a big margin and strong corporate demand for serviced apartments means supply to the long-term tenant market remains very limited. The local rental pool grew by just 2 homes in the December quarter.
January has started with a real rush and enquiry to our 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 4000 including Brisbane CBD.
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/
Posted in Spring Hill, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 16 January 2012
So here’s Brisbane city’s skyline today. Can you spot the difference to the view you’d normally see from the cliffs at Kangaroo Point? And, no, it’s not the dreary, cloudy
day that makes you think you’re somewhere in Melbourne!
There’s no cranes.
Just out of shot to the left there are cranes on the new academic building at QUT and out of sight in the distance at North Quay there’s cranes working busily on the new Meriton Infinity Apartments. But for the first time in what must be many, many years, this view doesn’t include construction of a big apartment or office building.
Tags: construction Brisbane, Infinity Apartments North Quay, Kangaroo Point Brisbane, Meriton Developments Brisbane, new apartments Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane CBD, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 29 November 2011
Spending our days in residential neighbourhoods real estate agents hear a lot about the ‘goings on’ in Brisbane’s inner city streets. And lately the number of gripes between neighbours seems to be on the rise. Arguments over tree roots blocking drains and cracking concrete, bins left in front of fences, leaves blocking gutters, noisy tradespeople and yapping dogs. The state government’s even brought in new legislation from November 1st to help resolve disputes. The new rules around trees and fences might not stop the arguments but they do clear up some of the doubts about responsibility.
We prefer to stay out of these over-the-fence blues but there’s one issue when we do offer an opinion. Surely whatever goes on in someone’s home is their business unless it has a negative impact on their neighbours? So the continued push by some bodies corporate to exclude pets from their buildings seems hard to justify. Noise, smells, mess – definitely a valid concern for other owners. But for example how can a cat in an apartment, that never goes outside or near common property, be of any concern to any neighbour? How does a body corp justify intruding into that resident’s life by preventing the pet living there?
Personally, I hate cats. Selfish, flea-bitten and obstinate things. But the Australian Companion Animal Council says research shows pets are good for an individual’s physical health and mental health. ACAC also found that in the past decade Australia’s dog population has decreased by at least 14% and its cat population has dropped by about 10%. Apartment living has been a big part of this change.
We’ve written before about the options pet-owning apartment dwellers have to challenge their body corp. Surely body corps can put sensible guidelines in place to allow pets but protect other residents from noise and smells?
And those of us who aren’t too keen on the moggies can at least be happy that appealing to a broader number of potential buyers and tenants may just bring a financial reward to all apartment owners.
Please share your thoughts by posting a comment below.
Tags: body corp committee Queensland, body corporate issues Queensland, Neighbourhood Disputes Resolution Act, pets in apartments Brisbane
Posted in trends in Brisbane property | 8 Comments »
Posted by admin on 25 November 2011
Home buyers love a good “forced sale” and we’re often asked if we have any mortgagee sales pending. But we just aren’t seeing that many in Brisbane’s inner-city. And a recent article from researcher Phil Ruthven of Ibisworld might help explain. “In the middle of the year, the nearly 9 million occupied households in Australia were valued at a net worth of $6.3 trillion – an average of $714,320 per household.” That’s a fairly impressive level of net assets and he comments that our average wealth continues to climb.
Brisbane-based property commentator Michael Matusik adds some valuable insight into why we’re not witnessing banks stepping in to sell up property: “Our higher saving rate is well documented, but exactly how it is being achieved doesn’t get much commentary. It is not just a simple case of saving more money. For the most part, Australians are saving more by repaying more than the minimum on their housing loans.”
Matusik never shirks from offering an opinion. “The fact that we are paying off our mortgages faster is often ignored by the doom and gloom merchants who predict a repeat here of what occurred overseas, and continue to preach about the pending mother of all property crashes. Yet, according to AFG, the average new loan-to-value ratio is a comfortable 67% and the latest ABS figures show that house prices fell just 2.2% across the Australian capitals over the last twelve months. Yawn. And yet we keep on reading about mortgage stress and impending doom.”
Bargain hunters might get tired of waiting…
Tags: Brisbane home loans, Brisbane home prices, Ibisworld, Michael Matusik, mortgagee sales Brisbane, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 19 October 2011
Many home owners make the move to apartment living to get away from the maintenance of a big garden. We’re often told they love the greenery, but not the weekends of mowing and mulching. So they move into concrete buildings where they’re limited to a couple of pots on their balcony. One new trend in urban architecture could see our inner city buildings include big splashes of greenery in the least likely of places.
Vertical gardens are popping up in design magazines around the world and southern cities have a couple of notable examples already up and running. Attaching more than 4,500 plants to the side wall of a Sydney apartment building the designers at TRIO (pictured)have created a garden that’s 12 storeys high. They say the trend to vertical gardens is just starting but there are lots of benefits. Horticulturalist Phillip Johnson says as well as removing Co2 they attract birds and butterflies to their buildings. “They are also effective for insulating against heat and reducing city noise”.
And they can look great.
One South Brisbane residential tower that’s currently before Council for approval has a vertical garden proposed for its main façade – stretching 5 storeys high. It’s in a fairly urban settings with plenty of concrete around it, so it’d be a welcome addition to the neighbourhood (even if the tower itself won’t be). It’s south-facing so no doubt there’ll need to be careful plant selection and planning for maintenance.
Let’s hope this trend takes hold in Brisbane’s inner city, with designs that ensure these green walls always look as good as the artists’ impressions. Otherwise they’ll be like huge versions of those dead pot plants on balconies!
Tags: Brisbane apartments, selling an apartment Brisbane, vertical gardens
Posted in architecture and renovation, trends in Brisbane property | 2 Comments »
Posted by admin on 17 October 2011
If you’ve noticed more tradies’ trucks in your neighbourhood streets there’s an easy explanation: home renovation is on the up. New ABS stats released today show the value of “alternations and additions to residential building” rose 2.6% in the June quarter. Aussies spent a massive $1.8 billion on major renos like new kitchens, decks and media rooms.
Major alternations in a home are classified as all works over $10,000 although last time we did work on our place that was less than the price of a couple of vanity units and taps…
The Housing Industry Association says renovation works are the source of growth for their industry in 2011. New residential construction dropped 5.3% in the June quarter, the majority of the slump in apartments and other attached buildings.
It’s a regular feature of a quieter sales market. People stop building, move less and renovate like crazy. We last reported on this in December 2006 and no doubt we’ll see it again. In a way it’s great for our streets to see all that housing stock rejuvenated.
Tags: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Brisbane houses, Brisbane inner city residential building, Housing Industry Association
Posted in architecture and renovation, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 28 September 2011
Spring Hill real estate is going up in value. We don’t mean the prices of homes that are being sold today, but rather the value of the ‘typical’ Spring Hill home. This is one of the interesting things to watch in a suburb like this: many, many homes undergo major renovations but the offical stats on local house prices are only measured on the ones that transact. If it doesn’t sell it doesn’t get counted. So the ‘typical’ Spring Hill house is changing, just below the radar of all those market commentators.
I took this shot down behind Birley Street and these are the sort of renovations that make a huge difference to the value of a home. It’s almost incorrect to call it a renovation – more a re-build. And once home-owners finish these sort of works they tend to stay in that home for a long time. Spring Hill real estate agents despair at the thought – but many home owners are here to stay!
Tags: Birley Street Spring Hill, Brisbane median home prices
Posted in Spring Hill, architecture and renovation, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 2 September 2011
Brisbane’s inner suburbs have some of the best examples of this state’s unique timber architecture. But for such a sought-after style of house there’s almost no consensus on what we should and shouldn’t call a “Queenslander”. Real estate agents know that adding the term to an advert can spike the enquiry levels. Builders are working the word into their descriptions in fairly imaginative ways (one applies the name to brick homes with timber-gabled facades – really?)
Maybe if it’s built north of the Tweed any house can legitimately share the title. But today we thought we’d ask you to share your thoughts: what makes a Queenslander a Queenslander? Surely there’s 4 key elements: it’s elevated from the ground, has a hardwood frame and softwood linings, the main materials are timber and tin, and it has a verandah.
Looking back into our history there were plenty of practical reasons for elevating the homes: to keep residents cool in summer, to allow easy construction on sloping land, to avoid floods, and to keep the timber away from termites. Under the house used to be a place for playing out of the sun, hanging the washing and a bed for the dog (or even a not-so-welcome relative). In “modern” times we saw this as an opportunity for extra space for media rooms, studies and garages. Are these still Queenslanders?
During our early years there were plenty of variations on timber home designs. Those built from 1859 to 1901 are often called Colonials (for our time as a colony). Bungalow is the common term for the next generation of styles that were usually more elaborate and included gabled, asymmetrical facades. In the 1920’s we adopted elements of the Californian Bungalows – even way back then we were taking design cues from the USA. You’ll also hear them called “inter-war Queenslanders” and there’s a huge range of designs built through this era. Those with an eye for detail can often date a home from its verandah posts, balustrades and windows (see below). How simple was life when to keep up with the Joneses you just needed a bullnose tin sunhood?!
Not surprisingly the Great Depression saw more simplicity and conservatism in design and by 1933 bricks were considered a modern option. Fibro was first manufactured in Queensland in 1936 and its easy-care maintenance meant it quickly became a popular cladding material. We’re still ripping the toxic stuff out of homes today.
If you’d like a very thorough read on the topic try “Brisbane House Styles 1880 to 1940” by Judy Gale Rechner (1998). Maybe every real estate agent should have a copy so we can get the terminology right! There’s no doubt we’re proud of our Queenslanders and their rich history – whatever the name means to you.
courtesy: "Brisbane House Styles" Rechner, 1998
Please share your definition of “Queenslanders”.
Tags: Brisbane history, Brisbane houses, Brisbane real estate agents, real estate advertising, training for Brisbane real estate agents
Posted in architecture and renovation, real estate marketing, trends in Brisbane property | 2 Comments »
Posted by admin on 10 August 2011
For this week’s newsletter we just wanted to share the graph below from www.myRP.com.au. This charts the changes in Brisbane’s median prices over the past 10 years. When the line’s above zero prices were going up. Below the line is when we’ve had drops in values.
The media love stories about booms and crashes. As home owners, or would-be home owners, we often fret and stress over the ups and downs of the market. Right now many Brisbane property owners are postponing major changes in their lives because prices are down. They won’t move home until they go back up. Or they won’t sell til they get more than the last sale in their neighbourhood.
In the context of a single year’s market the current changes in price can seem enormous. But maybe this graph will help some readers see things in a different light, a new perspective. It’s a nice reminder that things are still pretty good.
And at worst it’s a pretty graph!
graph courtesy myRP.com.au
Tags: Brisbane home prices, Brisbane median home prices, RP Data, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
