<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sunland-group">Sunland Group</a> has officially lodged plans for its first Gold Coast apartment project since the departure of the Abedian family from the company three years ago, unveiling a new high-rise proposal for a prominent Broadbeach corner site on Old Burleigh Road.

The application was submitted by an entity directed by Tom Jamieson, stepson of longtime Sunland leader Soheil Abedian, and Riaz Rezvanipour, brother-in-law of Sahba Abedian, Soheil’s son.

Sunland acquired the 1,283 sqm site on the corner of Old Burleigh Road and Armrick Avenue for $9.5 million late last year and is now seeking approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/99-101-old-burleigh-road-broadbeach-qld-4218">42-storey tower with 81 apartments</a>.

<img alt="First look: Sunland Group returns to Broadbeach with new Old Burleigh Road tower plans" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fea2946d-90ee-4cfc-babe-2a8ad5db2cb6" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/pers.png?VersionId=BV0fihJw31nDIQ8ozY_h3GbS8mxDyhnm" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/contreras-earl-architecture">Contreras Earl Architecture</a>, the proposed tower at 99-101 Old Burleigh Road would deliver a predominantly larger-format apartment mix aimed at the owner-occupier market. Plans include 17 two-bedroom apartments, 55 three-bedroom apartments, and nine four-bedroom residences across 35 residential levels.

The development also incorporates three basement levels, four podium parking levels, two levels of communal recreation facilities, and rooftop plant and equipment. A total of 189 car spaces are proposed, significantly exceeding the 90 spaces required under the planning scheme.

The architecture adopts a sculpted, curvilinear form, with deep wraparound balconies and integrated landscaping intended to soften the tower’s vertical expression. The planning report states the building’s “slender footprint/form provides a complimentary yet varied built form within the local streetscape” and contributes to “a varied, yet ordered skyline.”

Contreras Earl noted in its Architectural Statement that from the early stages, the project addressed a fundamental challenge: how to accommodate the required residential yield while avoiding the conventional model of a tower sitting on a rigid, fully resolved parking podium.

“The most direct response would have been to consolidate parking into a singular, flat podium and extrude a repetitive tower above,” the statement said. “While efficient, this approach would result in a consolidated built form with limited engagement with the surrounding landscape and public realm.”

Instead, the conventional podium model was “deliberately rejected”. The architects described the base of the building as “a landscaped architectural condition where structure, planting and circulation are integrated”.

“Rather than presenting a continuous built mass, the base of the building is articulated through a series of concrete planter elements that organise the podium into a fragmented system,” the statement said. “This approach reduces the perceived bulk of the lower levels while establishing a more permeable interface with the streetscape and adjacent open space.”

<img alt="Sunland" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="923fad8d-c960-4527-8fbe-975cf1ddf88d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-25%20at%2010.32.03%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=pngwb0hYOIUpq9vDw6F2EsOiVuHF3DiX" />

&nbsp;

The site sits within the High Density Residential Zone and inside the City of Gold Coast’s unrestricted “HX” building height area, where the planning framework anticipates intensified residential development tied to the expanding light rail corridor. The planning report notes the area is undergoing “transition toward more intense development forms” given its proximity to Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise, and high-frequency public transport infrastructure.

Positioned directly opposite Broadbeach Park and within walking distance of Florida Gardens light rail station, the development would sit among a rapidly evolving stretch of Old Burleigh Road that has become one of the Gold Coast’s most active apartment development corridors.

The application joins a growing pipeline of luxury residential projects reshaping Broadbeach, including nearby developments by 5Point Projects, Polycell, and Graya.

The planning report argues the project contributes toward the Gold Coast’s long-term housing targets under the South East Queensland Regional Plan, which forecasts the need for more than 100,000 additional high-rise dwellings across the city by 2046.

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The Abedian family departed Sunland Group in late 2023, ending a four-decade association with the company, and subsequently established the private development firm Abedian &amp; Co. The group is currently delivering <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/greenmount-residences-cnr-hill-street-and-marine-parade-coolangatta-qld-4225">Greenmount Residences</a> at Rainbow Bay and recently launched <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/18-mary-avenue-14-18-mary-avenue-broadbeach-qld-4218">18 Mary Avenue</a> in Broadbeach.
</section>

Joel Robinson

First look: Sunland Group returns to Broadbeach new apartment market with new Old Burleigh Road tower plans

The Minns Labor Government has established the new Bays West Delivery Authority to lead the development&nbsp;of the Bays West Precinct and Blackwattle Bay Precinct.&nbsp;

The Authority is charged with creating Sydney’s newest precinct, a thriving, connected, sustainable hub with White Bay Power Station as its cultural heart. Its vision is to build on the area’s natural, cultural and industrial history to shape a vibrant new neighbourhood.

The precinct will deliver up to 8,500 well-located homes, including a minimum of 10 per cent affordable and essential worker homes. Combine new housing with public open space, opening public access to the waterfront for the first time in more than 100 years, while retaining important deep-water facilities to support Sydney’s working harbour.

Located just minutes from the Sydney CBD and connected to a world-class metro, ferry, walking and cycling links, the Bays West precinct will rebalance housing growth towards well-serviced inner-city locations and help tackle the state’s housing crisis.

The Bays West Delivery Authority,&nbsp;an agency of the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, will report to the NSW Minister for Lands and Property who already has oversight of major precinct renewal projects including at Blackwattle Bay and Barangaroo.

As part of the broader Bays West transformation, the Minns Government recently announced that a proposal from Lendlease to redevelop part of the Bays West Precinct has progressed to Stage 2 of the NSW Government’s unsolicited proposals process.

<img alt="Sydney" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2ed71eb9-d8e8-4fa7-b9d1-de4531dcf2f3" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-25%20at%209.42.31%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=IDryFIbped9SNDg72LEN_EecvhUsOPvp" />

The Minns Labor Government has also confirmed the Bays West precinct will have a new suburb name. This will be the first major suburb built in close proximity to Sydney’s CBD in decades and will encompass the area currently being referred to as Bays West, including Glebe Island and the White Bay Power Station. Served by a new Metro station just five minutes from the CBD, it will become one of the most populous suburbs in the Inner West and one of Sydney’s premier cultural destinations.

An early works program is taking shape, which&nbsp;includes the first stages of an international design competition.&nbsp;

The aim of the Bays West&nbsp;International&nbsp;Design Competition is to&nbsp;ensure design excellence is embedded in the project from the start. The competition will deliver an&nbsp;urban framework that defines the character, ambition and long-term identity of&nbsp;this&nbsp;former industrial precinct as it transitions to a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable residential&nbsp;neighbourhood.

The competition will be led by the Bays West Delivery Authority in partnership with Government Architect NSW.&nbsp;

It will launch with an invitation for a global Expressions of Interest, before moving to an invitation-only stage that will be assessed by a panel that&nbsp;will provide advice to Cabinet who will select a winner.

Premier of NSW, Chris Minns said the establishment of the new Authority is the first step in transforming the Bays West precinct into a vibrant, livable suburb minutes from the Sydney CBD and two stops from Hunter St Station on the Metro West line.

“The Authority will deliver well-located homes close to the heart of the city and integrate the new precinct with Blackwattle Bay and the new Sydney Fish Market.

“This is a generational opportunity to build a new suburb on the city’s edge and open the harbour foreshore to the public for the first time in a century.”&nbsp;

Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper said the new Bays West Delivery Authority established by the Minns Government will turbocharge the development of Sydney’s newest suburb.

“The Authority is working at a record pace to deliver an international design competition, planning pathways and a financial model so that this development benefits Sydney with well-designed homes in a central location, close to public transport, jobs, entertainment and essential services.

“If we want Sydney to stay liveable and affordable, we need to be bold about using underutilised government-owned land to deliver homes for the future while making sure essential working harbour functions can be accommodated.”

Bays West Delivery Authority established to "turbocharge" Sydney’s newest suburb

Around 400 additional homes could be built at Southwark Grounds on Port Road, lifting total site capacity from 1300 to around 1700 dwellings.

A recently approved code amendment would allow apartment towers of up to 14 storeys in some areas of Renewal SA’s redevelopment of the former West End Brewery.

Renewal SA Acting Chief Executive Shane Wingard said he welcomed the code amendment, with the increase in heights and homes making a positive impact on the supply of high-quality, well-connected housing close to the city.

“By going higher across some parts of Southwark Grounds, we are adding a substantial number of very well-located homes with little impact on project delivery time or planned open space,” Mr Wingard said.

Since the project officially launched in 2025, Mr Wingard said more than 12,000 enquiries had been received about living at Southwark Grounds.

“The very strong early interest we’ve seen since homes were first released in the precinct reinforces our plans to create more housing opportunities,” he said.

The Southwark Grounds code amendment was launched in December last year, with community engagement undertaken over five weeks from January.

It proposed increasing maximum building heights from eight to 14 storeys on the eastern section of Southwark Grounds, and to 12 storeys across the remainder of the site, with minimum building heights ranging from two to four storeys.

The code amendment was implemented through an Early Commencement policy in late January, allowing developers to quickly explore the viability of increased height and housing yield while other planning processes continue.

One of the first developers delivering apartment sites have already finalised redesigns to increase the number of apartments following the code amendment.

Samaras’ development adjacent to the future Colonel Light Park is now planning to deliver 125 apartments across 11 storeys, significantly greater than original plans of around 50 apartments across four storeys.

The developer is also exploring the potential for additional affordable housing outcomes.

Most of the apartments at Southwark Grounds will be delivered within a master-planned precinct on a large parcel of land on the eastern portion of the site, covering around two-thirds of its 8.4 hectares.

Wingard said detailed precinct planning over the coming months may identify further opportunities to increase yield further that could see total apartment numbers at Southwark Grounds, exceed this number.

Affordable homes at Southwark Grounds will also see a net increase, with Renewal SA maintaining its commitment to a minimum of 20 per cent affordable housing across the development.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Civil works have begun across the site, with construction under way on the first new roads surrounding a townhouse precinct in the south‑west corner of Southwark Grounds. This includes Renewal SA’s 17 Founder’s Row homes, which are on track for completion by Christmas.

“We expect to have people living at Southwark Grounds by the end of the year, so delivering roads and public spaces for those residents is among our highest priorities.”

Construction of 40 townhouses off Anderson Street, known as West Village and being delivered by Contour, is forecast to begin in mid‑2026. Kolabb’s Anderson Lane development will follow shortly after, delivering a further 26 townhouses.

Southwark Grounds is a state government‑led urban renewal project now set to deliver around 1,700 homes over the next decade.

Homes will be supported by a supermarket, a range of retail and hospitality offerings anchored by a revitalised Walkerville Brew Tower, a childcare centre, car parking and well‑connected public spaces.

400 new homes planned for Adelaide's former West End Brewery site

Brisbane developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/cavcorp">Cavcorp</a> has lodged plans for a new mixed-use residential development at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/55-wyandra-street-teneriffe-qld-4005">55 Wyandra Street</a>, Teneriffe, anchored by an 85-metre public laneway designed to reconnect the suburb’s riverfront with the Gasworks precinct.

The buildings, known as Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane, would replace the existing Queensland Cotton head office site with a 15-storey residential tower transitioning to eight storeys toward Helen Street. The project has been designed by Plazibat Architects and lodged as a code assessable development application for 93 apartments across a 3,401 sqm mixed-use site within the Newstead and Teneriffe Waterfront neighbourhood plan.

Central to the scheme is the transformation of an existing service easement into a publicly accessible cross-block connection linking Wyandra and Helen Streets. Cavcorp says the new laneway will act as both a pedestrian shortcut and a landscaped civic space between the Teneriffe Riverwalk, ferry terminal, and Gasworks precinct.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="26e7f058-b065-4de8-b13d-a2b8cb64dfcc" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/bldg.png?VersionId=sELS0ZKYi361oYipUa1BIKfe_.DLZoFV" />

“The revised proposal delivers a legacy public-realm cross-block link, permanently secured for community use, transforming an existing private easement into a safe, high-quality pedestrian connection between the Teneriffe heritage riverwalk and the Gasworks–Long Island precinct,” the planning report states.

The laneway will sit beneath a large subtropical loggia integrated into the podium levels of the development. The design incorporates deep landscaping, water gardens, lobby spaces, business lounges, and ground-floor apartments to create what Cavcorp describes as a climate-responsive “urban verandah.”

The tower itself has been designed as a slender form with recessed floorplates and curved translucent corners inspired by contemporary Japanese architecture. The building height aligns with the Commercial Road precinct controls, which permit towers up to 15 storeys within proximity to Longland Street.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a8a17d40-43b6-4718-b3fd-67676fcbb485" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/pers%202_1.png?VersionId=i3VwDtp5AmL_8InW7w4qRbDFEpb744Jt" />

The project will comprise a mix of larger-format apartments aimed at owner-occupiers, downsizers, and families. The proposed apartment mix includes 11 loggia apartments across the lower levels, 50 four-bedroom Sky-Terrace apartments from levels three to seven, and 32 Sky-Pool Homes occupying the upper tower levels. The Sky-Pool Homes will feature private thermal plunge pools integrated into oversized balconies.

According to the application, the apartments are intended to reinterpret the scale and character of Teneriffe’s woolstore conversions and Queensland homes within a vertical residential format.

“The sky-pool homes build on Cavcorp’s previous projects and introduce a distinct apartment typology to Teneriffe, informed by both local and international precedent and responding to an identified market demand for enhanced safety, space and amenity,” the planning submission notes.

A major focus of the proposal is its five-level wellness and lifestyle offering, extending from the basement through to the rooftop.

Amenities proposed include a rooftop Swim &amp; Racquet Club with a 25-metre Olympic lap pool and tennis court, coworking spaces and libraries, golf simulators, wine storage, concierge facilities, business lounges, pet wash areas, and rooftop longevity-focused wellness spaces with spas, outdoor fitness zones, and landscaped terraces.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="944b352c-49b9-4247-a4c6-5967b4b69fda" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/amenity.png?VersionId=Ed_qKjAtMwFT.5gfl3jiA9QwdWxSMsaX" />

All parking will be concealed within basement levels accessed from Wyandra and Helen Streets. Cavcorp says the deep-basement engineering approach allows the entire ground plane to prioritise landscaping, pedestrian movement, and active frontage rather than vehicle infrastructure.

The development continues Cavcorp’s concentration in Newstead and Teneriffe, where the Brisbane developer has delivered a number of apartment projects including Lucent, Le Bain, and Luminare, as well as the Long Island Wellness Precinct nearby. Several of those projects have received national design and architecture awards, including recognition under Brisbane’s “Buildings that Breathe” program.

Cavcorp unveils wellness-focused Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane apartment buildings

Focus Group Investments has lodged plans for a new apartment development at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/64-70-hanover-street-fitzroy-vic-3065">64–70 Hanover Street</a> in Fitzroy, seeking to utilise the Victorian Government’s recently introduced Great Design Fast Track pathway to accelerate approvals for the project.

The proposal is among the latest developments to emerge through the state-led initiative, which was established to fast-track well-designed residential projects in activity centres and transport-connected inner-city locations. The pathway allows qualifying developments that meet elevated design and housing benchmarks to bypass traditional council planning timeframes and instead be assessed directly by the Department of Transport and Planning.

Designed by SJB, the development will comprise a mix of apartments above activated lower levels, with a strong focus on architectural articulation, landscaping, and communal amenity. The design response seeks to balance the industrial character of Richmond’s former warehouse precincts with a more contemporary residential form.

<img alt="First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Richmond apartments" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="abea51cc-d85b-479e-9aef-a589f3b37ca7" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/ground.png?VersionId=e1Kf8EyPWwyiVumtqQ4rM5S4GpOR3CCz" />

Proposed are 63 new dwellings, a wide ranging mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, and townhouses and duplexes. They will be spread across a part-three, part-eight storey building.

The Planning and Urban Context Report by Tract says the development is of an "exemplary architectural standard" and has been carefully crafted by SJB Architects.

"Dwellings&nbsp;will benefit from excellent access to natural light, cross-ventilation opportunities and extensive communal space," the report noted.

The architectural material highlights the project’s integration of landscaped elements and communal spaces throughout the building. The proposal also incorporates sustainability initiatives aligned with the Victorian Government’s push for higher-performing apartment developments under the fast-track program.

The Great Design Fast Track was unveiled by the Victorian Government in 2024 as part of a broader housing supply strategy aimed at accelerating the delivery of new homes. Projects assessed through the pathway must demonstrate high-quality architecture, sustainability outcomes, and housing diversity while being located close to public transport and existing infrastructure.

<img alt="First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Richmond apartments" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="afdbe834-8dc4-4a77-a943-ba07bc927348" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/site_11.png?VersionId=0J657j.TaChAZfp93wqJYBTqSsnREJx2" />

Focus Group, founder and led by Paul De Lutiis, is increasingly active across Melbourne’s inner suburbs, targeting well-connected urban renewal locations suited to medium and higher-density residential development. The Fitzroy proposal continues that strategy, leveraging the area’s strong transport links, established retail amenity, and proximity to the CBD.

Fitzroy has been one of the most popular spots for developers and buyers in recent years. The likes of PACE Development Group, SMA Projects, Crema Group and Chapter Group, currently selling projects in the suburb.

First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Fitzroy apartments

Brisbane Apartments

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Apartment purchases in more than 100 Brisbane suburbs, circulated on a confidential list, will face new lending restrictions from next Monday from the home town lender, Suncorp.
The list covers 39 Brisbane postcodes.
Under Suncorp's new rules, it will no longer accept investment loan applications for apartments where the buyer does not have a minimum deposit of 20 percent or more.
The exceptions are existing home loan applications and those received before Friday.
"Our settings have been adjusted for postcodes based on recent weakness in the investment unit market in Brisbane, with evidence of a reduction in prices," a Suncorp Bank spokesman said.
4000 Inner Brisbane City
4005 New Farm; Tenneriffe
4006 Fortitude Valley; Bowen Hills; Newstead; Herston
4007 Ascot; Hamilton
4009 Eagle Farm
4010 Albion
4011 Clayfield; Hendra
4012 Nundah; Toombul, Wavell Heights
4013 Northgate
4029 Royal Brisbane Hospital
4030 Kalinga; Lutwyche; Windsor; Wooloowin
4031 Gordon Park; Kedron
4032 Chermside
4051 Alderly; Enoggera; Gaythorne; Grange; Newmarket; Wilston
4053 Brookside Everton Park; Everton Hills, McDowall; Mitchelton; Stafford
4054 Arana Hills, Keperra
4059 Kelvin Grove; Red Hill
4060 Ashgrove
4061 The Gap
4064 Paddington; Milton
4065 Bardon
4066 Toowong; Auchenflower; Mount CootTha
4067 St Lucia
4068 Chelmer; Indooroopilly; Taringa 
4072 University of Qld
4075 Graceville; Corinda; Sherwood; Oxley
4101 Highgate Hill; South Brisbane; West End
4102 Dutton Park; Woolloongabba
4103 Annerley; Fairfield; Fairfield Gardens
4104 Yeronga
4105 Moorooka; Tennyson; Yeerongpilly
4120 Greenslopes; Stones Corner
4121 Holland Park; Wellers Hill; Tarragindi
4122 Mansfield; Mount Gravatt; Wishart
4152 Camp Hill; Carina; Carindale
4169 East Brisbane, Kangaroo Point
4170 Cannon Hill; Morningside; Norman Park; Seven Hills
4171 Balmoral; Bulimba; Hawthorne
4172 Murarrie 
 
The Australian Financial Review who obtained the list reports developers, such as Consolidated Properties, claim Brisbane has been cruelled by restrictions on financing set up to ease speculative apartment buying in Melbourne and Sydney.
Suncorp is a Brisbane based top 20 ASX-listed company with $97 billion in assets which employs 13,400 people and serves close to nine million customers across Australia and New Zealand. 
It commenced business in 1916 as the State Accident Insurance Office. 
The RBA has repeatedly warned buyers of the likely oversupply in Brisbane apartments.
Last week the bank noted to date, the adjustment in the Brisbane apartment market has not resulted in significant stress.
"Settlement failures appear to have remained in line with historical norms, although the peak of new supply is yet to come.
"Some developers, however, report that tighter financing conditions are contributing to delays in the settlement of off-the-plan purchases, as valuations below the purchase price reduce the amount banks will lend.
"In liaison, industry participants and banks express confidence that the Brisbane market will continue to absorb the new supply despite tighter financing conditions for buyers.
"Continued weakness in rents, and so rental income, remains a debt-servicing risk for investors," the RBA said. 
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Suncorp's lending restrictions on blacklisted 100 Brisbane suburbs cruelling apartment sales

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Publicity seekers love a bandwagon, preferably one that’s already travelling at a fair pace so that they can just leap on board and be carried along by the existing momentum.
A popular bandwagon to hitch a ride on is the Brisbane inner-city apartment market. Everyone, it seems, has noticed that something is afoot and wants to be the latest and loudest to issue a “warning”.
But the time to be warning about this was about three years ago. And November 2014 was when Property Observer published my column on this subject, the first of several I’ve written about this issue.
Way back then, this is what I wrote on Property Observer:
There will be repercussions from the over-building of apartments in Brisbane …
In Brisbane, as in Melbourne, Sydney, the Gold Coast and other major unit markets, the inspiration for the high level of new building is the Chinese investment market. Everyone is targeting Chinese investors. 
Developers and their marketing stooges don’t care about the vacancy rate figures. That’s someone else’s problem. If they can flog their apartments to Asian buyers, nothing else needs to be considered. 
The people who will feel the most pain in the future will be the investor buyers. High vacancies will push down rents and the returns they will earn from their investment. That in turn will undermine values. 
Others will suffer. Owners of existing properties in or near the inner-city will also find it hard to tenant their properties and will have to cut rents. Their values will fall also. Home-owners in those areas will be equally affected by falling values.
An investor contacted me recently to tell me that he had just read that column, but only after having signed a contract to buy an off-the-plan apartment in the Brisbane inner-city market. Horrified, and after doing further research, they sought to exit the contract.
The big problem for investors like this is that the industry keeps pumping out propaganda which talks up this market and individual high-rise projects - and lots of media outlets keep publishing it.
Back in November 2014, I wrote:
A media release this week was positively gushing in its eulogy of the Brisbane inner-city apartment market. Sales are surging, it said, and the level of new construction in the pipeline was a cause for celebration. The market, apparently, “continues to shine”.
That kind of dishonest press release material is still muddying the waters. The REIQ has been a particular culprit. If the institute can be believed (generally they can’t), vacancies are acceptable, there are lots of buyers and tenants, and all is well in central Brisbane.
But independent sources disagree. Louis Christopher’s SQM Research has vacancies at 5% or higher in the CBD, Fortitude Valley, New Farm, South Brisbane, West End and Woolloongabba. Kangaroo Point is slightly better off, at 4.4%, but that’s still too high.
The key factor is that the situation will worsen as new projects are completed and their apartments are added to the rental pool.
BIS Oxford Economics is the latest to issue a dire warning. It predicts Brisbane’s median unit price will fall 7% between now and 2020. I would suggest the decline will be greater than that.
Research data published recently shows that owners already are losing money on re-sales – and this is reinforced by median price data from CoreLogic. In the past 12 months, median unit prices have dropped 7% in Fortitude Valley, 8% in South Brisbane and 11% in both West End and Woolloongabba.
Fortitude Valley, South Brisbane and West End all have median prices lower than three years ago.
Long-term growth rates in this market are fairly dismal as well. The average annual growth in median prices over the past decade have been 1.4% per year for the CBD, 1.1% for West End and a little over 2% per year for Kangaroo Point, Fortitude Valley and South Brisbane.
Those rather bleak growth rates will fall further as values continue to decline in the wake of the current over-supply.
 
Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au
<a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au">ryder@hotspotting.com.au</a>
twitter.com/hotspotting
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terryryder-YECXbqmri2

Brisbane apartment market warning should have been three years ago: Terry Ryder

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Brisbane’s apartment market will see a flood of newly built units over the next 12 months, putting pressure on the city’s apartment vendors and confirming the Reserve Bank’s fears.
Unit supply in greater Brisbane is scheduled to grow by 20 per cent over the next two years, with 39,420 apartments and townhouses hitting the market, according to property analytics firm CoreLogic.
Of this, there will be 15,650 additions over the next 12 months.
Valuation firm Herron Todd White’s senior executive Gavin Hulcombe said that in some extreme cases there were resales up to 30 per cent less than the off-the-plan price. 
“What we are seeing is some of the secondary, lesser designed, lesser built apartments are not seeing price growth,” he was cited as saying by The Australian.
Forecaster BIS Oxford Economics has already tipped price falls for units of 7 per cent between now and 2020 — 14 per cent in real terms. 
Latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland show an overall decline of of 2.3 per cent in the average price of apartments in the June quarter.
However, Urbis recently tipped that the Brisbane apartment market has been self-correcting and unlikely to suffer any great supply-demand imbalance. 
Fly-in, fly-out worker Rebecca Tavo, 34, has just listed her one-bedroom, one-bathroom, one-car unit in inner-city Teneriffe for sale on Gumtree, with hopes of a $450,000 sale. After owning the apartment for about eight years, the mine worker and sportswoman expects to get her money back and return to Western ­Australia.
“I don’t have any qualms I will sell it, it will just be at what price,” she said. 
To woo buyers, developers are offering discounts, rental guarantees and furniture packages.
There is a backlog of more than 2,200 units — about two years of supply — still awaiting to be sold in some projects.
Marketers for The Marc Apartments in inner-city Kangaroo Point are knocking $5,000 off the price as well as offering $15,000 furniture packages, free blinds and a one-year rental guarantee on two-bedroom units for buyers who sign up before September end.
PPB Advisory head of real ­estate Garry McLean said this quarter would give a better idea about where the market was headed.
“We are hearing mostly positive stories,” he said. “Most of the settlements that have occurred have gone reasonable well, though it is certainly slower in the tail end.”
He said the “massive surge” in supply followed a long period post-GFC when little was built.
“I would expect there to be some price reduction but, again, we are seeing the rental market holding well and we’re not seeing significant unoccupied apartments coming through,” he said.
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jonathanchancellor-7SQnKwU6yx

Brisbane faced with prospect of apartment oversupply as new units flood market

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Cbus Property has sold contracts for more than half of its apartments in its $375 million Brisbane high-rise, and is expected to start construction soon amid concerns of an oversupplied market.
The 264 apartment tower at 443 Queen Street ran into controversy earlier, but a decision on construction would provide certainty to other buyers and more sales could be expected, Cbus Property chief executive Adrian Pozzo was cited as saying by The Australian Financial Review.
Among the sales so far are 15 four-bedroom apartments worth more than $2 million each. 
"We will be on site in the coming weeks, with completion occurring in the third quarter of 2020 and that certainty is important to owner-occupiers, particularly buyers planning to downsize," Pozzo said.
"The strong sales result is a clear sign that the demand for quality owner-occupier product is alive and well in the Brisbane market," he said.
The tower, with views over the Brisbane River, has been designed by architect Richard Hassell, of Singapore-based WOHA Architects and Brisbane firm Architectus, led by Elizabeth Watson Brown.
The design includes gardens on every level of the 47-storey tower. 
The project ran into hurdles early on after protests against its development near the heritage-listed Customs House. 
Law firm Allens started a legal battle with Cbus over the tower, which is being built in front of the lawyers' own Brisbane headquarters, blocking the views of the river. That legal challenge has since been resolved.
Concerns have been voiced in various quarters, including the RBA, about an oversupply of apartments in Brisbane.
Apartment sales in Brisbane city have slipped 70 per cent in a year according to Urbis. 
Last year, Cbus Property had teamed up with Scentre Group to purchased the <a href="/expert-insights/investing/cbus-and-scentre-team-up-to-secure-david-jones-sydney-store">David Jones Market Street</a> building in Sydney’s CBD for $360 million.
 
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Cbus to start building Brisbane tower as it notches brisk sales

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Construction costs in Brisbane are 30 to 40% above Sydney and Melbourne, and have spun out of control, says developer Tim Gurner.
According to him, despite a firm market, high construction costs are holding back development in Brisbane.
This despite the concerns of an oversupply of apartments in Brisbane and some builders selling at discounts. 
Ahead of a topping out ceremony for the $600 million FV twin towers in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, Gurner told The Australian that “it is not the market that is the problem, it is that construction prices are totally out of control”. 
“There have been a huge number of projects in Brisbane that will not get off the ground, not necessarily through the fault of the developer,” he said. 
“No one would have expected construction ­prices to rise 45%, it is unheard of.”
Gurner, who has built more than 5,500 apartments in Victoria and Queensland, said the second stage of FV had construction costs 45% higher than the first, the twin towers Flatiron and Valley House. 
The third building is currently under construction.
Quantity surveyor BMT also said in a recent report that Brisbane construction costs were up to 15% higher than Sydney.
Valuation firm Herron Todd White recently noted that units in Brisbane are in a declining market.
Meanwhile, Metro Property Development recently sold an apartment development site in Manning Street for a huge 35% discount after buying it for $20 million just two years back.  
Brisbane’s off-the-plan apartment sales have been in decline throughout 2016, plunging 37% in the last quarter according to Urbis. Supply of new stock and approvals have reached their lowest level since 2014.
Gurner said the slowdown showed the market regulating itself, as well as the restrictions from the major banks that had dried up funding for Brisbane developments.
FV was underwritten by ANZ, initially for the joint venture with Gurner and Singapore-based Thakral. 
“Although I don’t believe there is an oversupply in Brisbane, and in two years’ time we will be saying there is an undersupply again, if the momentum had continued it would have been a problem,” he said.
“We sold 980 apartments in about 12 weeks and that’s pretty fast. If that momentum did continue for three to five years, I think there could have potentially been a problem.”
Gurner was there to celebrate construction of the complex reaching its 30-storey peak for the 651-apartment towers. 
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High building costs in Brisbane holding back development: Tim Gurner 

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A Brisbane developer has announced a settlement package before the end of the financial year on June 30 for its off-the-plan apartments in the inner city suburb of Woolloongabba.
Construction is about to start on the <a href="https://projectpropertysales.com.au/sabre-apartments/" target="_blank">Sabre project on Sword Street</a> which will comprise 25 apartments.
There will be one and two-bedroom luxury apartments.
The settlement package available on contracts offers two choices from the following: 
<ul>
<li>one year free body corporate</li>
<li>one year rental guarantee</li>
<li>blinds and security screen package</li>
<li>Fisher and Paykel white goods package (fridge, washing machine and dryer)</li>
</ul>
The developer says that 25 percent of the project has been sold out before construction. 
Two bedroom apartments are available from $440,000.
The apartments have open plan living areas with kitchens and private balcony. 
The location is near retail and dining precincts being developed within the Woolloongabba area.
 
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Brisbane developer offers incentives for off-the-plan apartments in Woolloongabba 

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Melbourne developer Kokoda Property is buying a riverfront site in Brisbane’s St Lucia with plans for a $75 million apartment building in spite of a slowing market and the recent collapse of a major builder.
It is paying $9.5 million for the site.
"The Brisbane market has, overall, slowed," Kokoda property director Sam Tucker was quoted by The Australian Financial Review as saying.
"However, we see this as an opportunity as higher-end purchasers are now driving the demand."
New apartment sales in Brisbane have collapsed by more than 70% in a year, according to Urbis.
It also said the Brisbane apartment market has been self-correcting and unlikely to suffer any great supply-demand imbalance. 
SQM Research recently said that Greater Brisbane faces an oversupply of 8,000 new dwellings this year as scheduled completions outstrip population-driven growth in demand.
However, Urbis figures showed that only 1,812 units are under construction in the CBD across four projects. 
Just last week, Metro Property Development was reported to have sold a prime apartment development site in Brisbane for a huge 35% discount after buying it for $20 million just two years back.  
Despite the negative sentiment, Kokoda’s Tucker expects the 60 high-end, luxuriously sized apartments he is planning at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property/160-macquarie-st-st-lucia-qld-4067" target="_blank">160 Macquarie Street</a> to sell.
"At Kokoda, our strategy is to move at a counter-cyclical direction to the rest of the market,” he said.
"Our faith in the Brisbane market may run against convention, but we have no doubt that the quality of our offering will continue to draw strong attention in the market as it matures.”
The site sold for $6.75 million in 2014, according to RP Data.
The site was previously marketed as well with an offering of apartments. The site area is 1242 square metres.
Called St Lucia Residences, it was conceived by Hayes Anderson Lynch Architects and interior designers SJB Interiors.
Kokoda's planned 15-storey development, located 6 kilometres from the CBD, will have "a blended neo-classical style with touches of New York's upper east side".
Tucker said Brisbane was moving away from investor-driven projects to a smaller, but stronger, owner-occupier market that demanded higher quality.
Kokoda’s project Chester &amp; Ella in Newstead generated $95 million in sales in its first four weeks and was ranked as a top sales performer consistently since its launch, according to data by Place Advisory, the AFR said.
"The sales success of our previous project is testament to the strong ongoing demand from the higher end of the market," said Tucker.
The St Lucia sale was negotiated by Colliers International's Brendan Hogan.
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Melbourne developer Kokoda buys St Lucia, Brisbane riverfront site 

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The RBA has noted that some banks had curtailed lending to some segments of the housing market, notably the Brisbane apartment market, where the supply of apartments was expected to increase significantly, raising the risks associated with oversupply. 
But the RBA acknowledged reports of settlement failures had remained isolated.
Conditions in housing markets continued to vary considerably across the country, the April minutes noted.
"The established markets in Sydney and Melbourne appeared to have strengthened further, but housing prices had continued to fall in Perth.
"The additional supply of apartments scheduled to come on stream over the subsequent couple of years in the eastern capital cities was expected to put some downward pressure on growth in apartment prices and rents, particularly in Brisbane."
It also noted vacancy rates had been increasing, particularly in Perth.
"Strong growth in the supply of new apartments was continuing to drive a wedge between price growth for apartments and detached houses in Melbourne and Brisbane."
It noted members discussed the recent actions taken by APRA and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to support prudent lending practices. 
"These actions had been focused particularly on interest-only lending, serviceability assessments and responsible lending practices. 
"APRA's guidance had included limits on the share of interest-only loans in new housing loans and a requirement that banks impose strict limits on new interest-only lending at high loan-to-valuation ratios. 
"Members recognised that the calibration of this guidance was not precise or straightforward. 
"Developments needed to be kept under review and, depending on how the system responds to the various measures, members noted that the Council of Financial Regulators would consider further measures if needed," it concluded.
 
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RBA notes banks curtailing Brisbane apartment lending given oversupply fears

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There is no oversupply of apartments in Brisbane’s CBD and the debate is inappropriate, according to prominent Queensland developer Don O’Rorke.
Brisbane’s central business district will settle just three apartment projects this year:  666 units in 2017 at Sunland’s $240 million Abian, AMP Capital/Billbergia’s $900 million Skytower and its own $200 million Spire tower, according to O’Rorke in an article in The Australian. 
However, lenders and the central bank have a different view. NAB has blacklisted Brisbane CBD as a high-risk postcode for mortgages and even the Reserve Bank of Australia has expressed concerns about an apartment glut in Brisbane’s inner-city locations. 
The RBA said as recently as February that “the combination of increased supply and lower population growth had already depressed rents and apartment prices in Perth and, increasingly, Brisbane”. 
Even in October 2016, the RBA had noted there was a danger that apartment buyers will default on off the plan purchases because of falling ­prices along with the difficulty of obtaining ­finance.
“These risks appear greatest in inner-city Brisbane and Melbourne, where the new supply is largest relative to the existing dwelling stock,” it had said.
But the Consolidated Properties executive chairman was of a different view, saying the city centre represents 10 percent of inner Brisbane’s supply this year.
An additional 810 units will settle in 2018, including Sam Chong’s Mary Lane tower and later stages of the 1,138-unit Skytower, which dominates the city supply.
“The market will be crying out for new product in 2019,” he said. “We certainly don’t see any oversupply issues in the CBD,” he was cited as saying by The Australian.
O’Rorke said there were no new residential projects starting construction in the CBD and the first stage of Destination Brisbane Consortium’s Queen’s Wharf $3 billion development — which is expected to include a residential tower — would not be complete until 2021.
He said the vast majority of the current developments were already pre-sold and there remained strong demand for new product.
“There is simply no point in tracking mooted projects because we know that virtually none of them will proceed, due to the constraints in current funding,” he said. “
The only certain fact is that the four buildings under construction in the Brisbane CBD will be the only additions to the existing market stock in the coming years and 1,812 apartments, by any measure, is a small number.”
According to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, rents have fallen from $590 a week across Spring Hill and Brisbane City in 2015, to $538 in December 2016, but vacancies remain low.
O’Rorke said the market dynamics were shifting.
Record approvals were in place in 2016, but have scaled back dramatically this year. Of the 24,000 units approved for development, it is expected only two-thirds will be built. 
Industry figures show 3,015 apartments will settle in 2017 across 22 projects in inner southern Brisbane, while 2,727 units will reach completion in 14 developments in the inner north.
In 2018, there are an expected 288 settlements in the south and 790 in the north. Queen’s Wharf is expected to bring an additional 2,000 units to the market, but the major casino-resort project has until 2035 to complete.
O’Rorke said Brisbane was a fragmented market where buyers or tenants who wished to live in the CBD would not be enticed into other areas, where there may be more stock.
Meanwhile, Sunland’s Abian development, which will be completed by mid-year, has recorded resales at a 20 percent and 30 percent premium to the off-the-plan purchase price.
At an average price of more than $1.6 million, the development sold out in 2015, but has had resales with up to 30 percent higher.
Colliers International’s residential director Andrew Scriven said Brisbane’s city centre had not settled any new developments for the past three years and recent resales suggested the market was strong.
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