Brisbane Transaction Activity Steams Ahead for A-Grade Residential

The River City is awash with development site sales as demand for inner-city homes runs hot. South-East Queensland developers are opening their purses to buy up A-grade residential sites across Brisbane’s inner city, while their southern counterparts are also hunting upside in the Sunshine State. Brisbane residential developer Pikos has confirmed its latest acquisition on Waterloo Street at Newstead, padding out its pipeline in the suburb, 3.6km north-east of the CBD. The developer has reportedly splashed out more than $32 million on the 2346sq m site that would capture views across Waterfront Park out to the Brisbane River. ▲ Pikos Group chief executive Michelle Wooldridge: The developer has $1 billion in luxury projects in its residential pipeline in Brisbane. Pikos chief executive Michelle Wooldridge says the development site was an agglomeration of six parcels of land, showcasing the developer’s skills in managing land consolidations. The developer has about $1-billion worth of luxury projects in its residential pipeline in Brisbane, including Sky by Pikos and Gaia at Kangaroo Point on the waterfront. Key drivers of Brisbane sales Patona Property director for institutional and private sales Sam Byrne says there are two key drivers whetting the appetite for acquisitions. Byrne says there has been a well-documented surge in demand for inner-city housing in Brisbane fuelled by strong migration, alongside a material uplift in revenue assumptions for new apartment stock off the back of strong house price growth. “The run of recent deals sends a clear signal; confidence in Brisbane’s long-term fundamentals is stronger than ever,” Byrne says. “For many groups, missing out now risks being locked out of opportunities in the cycle ahead. We see this as a reflection of the sharp house price growth in Brisbane. There is a trend of Baby Boomers selling out of businesses and other property, downsizing or upgrading to amenity-rich precincts.” Another prominent South-East Queensland builder-developer has reportedly put its foot on an inner-city waterfront site for about $30 million, close to its other apartment towers. With a significant pipeline of work across Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Brisbane, the developer is looking to keep the engine humming with further acquisitions. Car dealership doyen Paul Norris is understood to have acquired several buildings on Commercial Road for a total value of $29 million to create a 3300sq m street-to-street landholding. Interstate developers moving in Meanwhile, southern developers have ventured up to the calmer waters of Brisbane, including Cronulla local Sammut Group, which has bought up JGL’s site at Toowong for about $20 million. There are also reports that Melbourne developer Beulah is circling a Cordelia Street site at South Brisbane. ▲ A render of Sammut Group’s Coast now under construction at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. Most of these acquisitions are happening off-market. The last major on-market deal for a residential development site was Fortis’s acquisition of the OzCare site at New Farm. But it doesn’t necessarily mean a less competitive price point for these amenity-rich locations. The sites that are transacting are predominantly A-grade and premium sites that can generate strong revenues in a high construction cost environment, Byrne says. He says that South-East Queensland is “firmly on the radar of sophisticated buyers right now”. “Population growth, infrastructure investment, and ongoing housing undersupply are aligning to create a compelling medium-term story,” Byrne says. “For groups with a long-term view, this is exactly the point in the cycle to be securing sites before competition and pricing pressure intensifies further.” Now is the time to ink deals And that competition is likely to come from all quarters with interstate developers chasing deals in South-East Queensland. But, Byrne warns, offshore and institutional developers are also snapping at their heels. “In Brisbane’s last development cycle between 2013 and 2017, many offshore and institutional developers only entered towards the later stages,” he says. “This time, we’re already seeing those groups active in the early phase, which highlights how Brisbane has matured into a more sophisticated, globally recognised market.” ▲ Patona Property agent Sam Byrne says the time to buy into Brisbane ahead of the next property cycle is now. Sophisticated investors are also consolidating key landholdings, which Byrne says is reflecting a long-term conviction in the structural demand for development sites in Brisbane. A development opportunity at inner-city Auchenflower is currently on the market with RPM Group. The 1430sq m riverfront site on the corner of Coronation Drive and Lang Parade has come to market for the first time, offering 30m of direct Brisbane River frontage and residential development opportunity for heights to eight storeys. RPM Queensland sales director James Matley says there is limited supply of new homes in Auchenflower. “Only 18 new building approvals have been recorded in Auchenflower since July 2021, despite the clear and growing demand,” Matley says. While high-profile riverside projects have reshaped suburbs like Toowong and West End, Auchenflower has remained largely low rise in character, with the last projects of scale being undertaken over a decade ago. “Buyers are prepared to pay a premium for the right location, views and walkable amenity, but the supply pipeline isn’t keeping up, especially in prestige corridors like this one where zoning and site scale rarely align,” Matley says. RPM Group’s analysis of nearby prestige apartment projects shows an average of $20,000 per sq m with developments such as Arc, River House, and Gaia leading the premium bracket. Brisbane, Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast are forecast to add 887,000 new residents by 2046, placing mounting pressure on housing supply—particularly apartments. But delivery remains a key challenge in South-East Queensland.

Brisbane Transaction Activity Steams Ahead for A-Grade Residential

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