Brisbane apartment market stabilises in September quarter with sub-$650,000 the sweet spot: Place Advisory

There were 365 unconditional inner-Brisbane apartment sales in the September quarter, with more than four out of five sales below the $650,000 mark, according to a new report by Place Advisory.

Affordability appears to be a key consideration for buyers, with more than a third of sales (35%) price between $350,000 and $450,000 – the most popular price band.

However, there appears to be little appetite (or little product) at the more expensive end of the market, with just 3% of sales for apartments prices from $900,000 and above.

Source: Place Advisory

The weighted average price over the quarter was $548,493 – 3% below the previous June quarter price.

The 365 transaction were 15% lower than the previous quarter but above the long-term 10-year average of 311 transactions, which Place Advisory says indicates stability in the market.

At the current sales rate there is more than a year’s worth of apartments available for purchase, with Place Advisory counting a total of 1,808 new residential apartments remaining for sale across the inner-Brisbane market.

It was a very good quarter for developer David Devine,who notched up two of the top-selling projects over the three months to September via his Metro Property development businesses.

The highest-selling project over the quarter was Metro Property’s newly released Plaza Apartments, which recorded 54 unconditional sales, followed by another Metro Property project, Brooklyn on Brookes, with 44 sales.

Double One 3 (39 sales) – being developed by Devine Limited in Teneriffe – ranked third. The business is no longer associated with David Devine, but still bears his name.

“From discussions with agents and developers across the marketplace, consistency month to month remains the biggest challenge,” says Place Advisory, a project marketing agency.

“Enquiry appears to fluctuate in quality and quantity with no reasoning associated.

“The reality is when you look at the overall picture, we must be prepared and understand that we are in what could be regarded as a normal market.

“Most feedback suggests that if Brisbane’s residential supply pipeline continues as a constant, where close to an average of 1,000 new apartments have been released annually over the past five years, and stock remains price pointed and affordable these trends are unlikely to change in the coming two years.

“Importantly, the impact of the first-home owners' construction grant (FHOCG) will be one to watch in coming quarters.”