Tough economic times have not deterred buyers from jumping on board a mixed-use development at Hamilton with more than $30 million of apartments sold in just over a week.
With the Urban Land Development Authority only granting approval to the masterplan for the $500 million Hamilton Harbour project last week, the developers were overwhelmed by the rush to buy before formal marketing had been launched.
The joint venture between Leighton Properties and Devine Limited will result in the two tallest buildings in the suburb to date, with residential towers hitting 22 storeys and 19 storeys.
In addition to the residential towers, housing 432 apartments, there will be two 10 storey commercial buildings offering 31,000sqm of space, a public car park and lifestyle precinct with retail, cafes and boutiques.
Devine Managing Director David Devine said his firm had done a lot of research and was confident Hamilton Harbour would hit the market.
Leighton Properties Executive Director and State Manager, Queensland Andrew Borger said that to have achieved such a strong result in a week, showed they had the right offering.
Of the 432 apartments, 90 will be affordable to rent for people who earn the median Brisbane household income of $60,000. Prices start at $295,000.
According to Brian Stewart of the Urban Development Institute of Australia, affordable housing is what will help lead the recovery in the economy.
He said new home buyers would need to lower their expectations to meet their budgets.
BIS Shrapnel managing director Robert Mellor said in Brisbane this week that affordability had been a major issue in the Brisbane market.
But he said with the first home buyer’s grants and low interest rates, buyers were returning to the market, which would also encourage existing home owners to take the plunge and “upgrade”.
To date, Hamilton Harbour has secured 68 sales for a total of $30.219 million. Apartments already committed to are the one and two bedroom offerings and it was mostly local buyers securing them.
Three-bedroom apartments, which start at $1,595 million, will be offered for sale in the coming weeks.
Mr Devine said that the developers looked at the site as being the first stage of redevelopment of the Northshore Hamilton region. As a result, he said being the first project to get under way, buyers should see some good capital growth.
While it is hoped construction will be under way by the forth quarter this year, Mr Devine said they would want pre-sales of 60 to 70 percent of apartments under their belts before then.
“The market is in under-supply throughout the country” he said. Mr Borger said the fact that it was a Hamilton address in the waterfront precinct also made it appealing.
For more information, please contact:
Andrew Borger
Executive Director and State Manager, Queensland
Leighton Properties Pty Limited
T: (07) 3370 4700
E: andrew.borger@lppl.com.au |