Who’s Going To Live In Brisbane’s New Apartments?

It is no secret that the majority of Brisbane’s future apartment stock is currently being designed with the investor in mind.  This is due to a number of factors including increased interest from both Chinese and interstate buyers.  Place Advisory has undertaken an analysis of the pipeline of Inner Brisbane apartments to determine which areas will, in the years to come, become havens for renters or owner-occupiers.

Overall, it is estimated that 73% of all new apartments currently on the market or under construction are being targeted toward the investor market, whilst 27% are more so for owner occupation.  Looking at the proposed future pipeline of apartments for Brisbane, the proportion of owner-occupier apartments is set to increase to a figure closer to 30%, with investor stock accounting for the remainder.

Tenancy Overview: Estimated Breakdown by Suburb
 

The above chart shows an approximated summary of future development delivered in each inner Brisbane suburb, broken down by investor or owner occupier.  Of note, South Brisbane, Fortitude Valley, Woolloongabba, Newstead, the CBD, West End and Toowong are each going to have a substantial number of investor units delivered in the coming years.  Overall, each of these suburbs is going to experience a considerable amount of development in general and the delivery of these investor units will be accompanied by owner-occupied units as these suburbs are transformed into true high-density Inner Brisbane hubs.

Render of an approved owner-occupier development in Kangaroo Point[/caption]In terms of apartment stock geared towards the owner-occupier, Bulimba is the only suburb in Brisbane that is set to have more than 50% of future stock designed for this market segment.  As the Brisbane market evolves, Place Advisory expects a higher percentage of apartments delivered to the market to be targeted towards the owner-occupier across all regions.

Prepared by Place Advisory. Source BCI Australia[/caption]The map above shows Brisbane’s future apartment stock by tenancy type.  Light green dots represent buildings that will be predominantly renters, meaning that they are currently being marketed to investors and more than 50% of apartments in the building are expected to be sold to investors.  Dark green dots represent buildings that are expected to be predominantly purchased by owner-occupiers and orange dots represent buildings that will be approximately evenly split.

This map clearly shows the different areas that will become home to different demographics over the next few years.  Many new renters will be moving to suburbs such as Newstead, Fortitude Valley, Bowen Hills, South Brisbane, Woolloongabba and Coorparoo – all of which will see many buildings constructed with apartments predominantly owned by property investors.

Predominantly owner-occupied buildings will not be as common – approximately 11% of buildings according to Place Advisory’s research.  Looking at the map, it is clear that there are pockets of Brisbane that are set to become sanctuaries for those that want to live in a larger, luxury apartment.  In particular, the northern edge of the Bulimba Peninsula, New Farm, Kangaroo Point, the CBD and West End are set to become home to this type of building.

Contributed by Lachlan Walker, Director at Place Advisory.