Despite relatively low sales, things may be looking up for Brisbane’s apartment market.
The capital’s unit market recorded 212 new apartments sold in the June quarter—up from 122 sales the previous quarter, according to the latest Urbis Apartment Essentials report.
The market continues to experience subdued conditions compared to its peak in 2015 and 2016, according to Urbis property economics director Paul Riga.
“But there is a hint of optimism in the air from a number of local developers, despite the fact that we are still seeing what we would call relatively low sales," Riga said.
The city’s apartment sector is not expected to reach levels it did three years ago anytime soon. However, there will be a more sensible recovery, with finance becoming more available and positive sentiment increasing.
The average unit sale price increased $113,000 to $757,488 last quarter, influenced by luxury units, especially in the CBD and inner-east.
New supply pushed sales up as 467 new apartments across five new projects entered the market in the last quarter—the most since the January 2018 quarter.
The most popular products were two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments, which made up for almost half of all sales. Three-bedroom units made up of more than one in five sales.
In inner-Brisbane, more than 20,000 units are at the development stage, but most are not expected to enter the market soon.
About seven developments, totalling 1,062 units, are expected to launch before 2019 ends, according to Urbis.
However, the additional units will unlikely saturate the market.
"What Brisbane does actually need is a bit of fresh supply, particularly when looking at the fact that the completions and settlements are seriously declining. We're actually hearing reports of a number of projects that are able to start increasing their rents, which indicates a level of demand in the market and at this point the supply is seeing a decline,” Riga said.
