The site of a former theatre, approved for a 12-storey tower about 10 years ago, has come to market in Queensland for the first time in seven decades. The landmark Pier Theatre site spanning 2500sq m at 115-131 Redcliffe Parade is approved for 82 apartments above 748sq m retail space and a food and beverage outlet. Described by Cushman and Wakefield, who are conducting an expressions-of-interest campaign for the site, as a “precinct-shaping, oceanfront development opportunity”, this is the first time in 70 years the site has been for sale. The site has frontage to Redcliffe and Sutton Street ..read more

Figures from real estate data firm CoreLogic have revealed the most tightly held parts of the Sunshine Coast during the post-pandemic real estate boom. The beachfront suburbs of Warana, Currimundi and Moffat Beach, along with Battery Hill landlocked between them and the Nicklin Way, feature strongly, as does Golden Beach. Kuluin, next to Maroochydore, and Lake Macdonald, in the Noosa hinterland, were the areas north of the Mooloolah River where property turnover was at the lower end of the scale. Properties sold in Battery Hill in the 12 months to March have been held the longest, for a m ..read more

Tim Forrester’s Aria Property Group is set to continue its transformation of South Brisbane with another sustainable apartment development approved. They’ve been given the green light by the Brisbane City Council to develop a new tower on a triple block at 164-190 Melbourne Street, where the former Malouf’s Fruit Shop and Bond’s Sweet Factory once stood. The sustainably conscious developer, known for their signature rooftop amenity and sustainability efforts, will be constructing a new apartment tower at 33 Manning Street, on the corner of Melbourne and Manni ..read more

In the last quarter, the cost of renting rose by 10.5 per cent across the combined capital cities, pushing the median weekly rent to new highs, while vacancy rates tightened. The grim reality is that, in order for the rental market to stabilise, there needs to be 40,000 to 70,0000 more available dwellings, says Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell. As impossible as that sounds, a solution may be in the background already. Enter build-to-rent (BTR) projects. BTR housing is exactly what it sounds like: housing built for the sole purpose of being renting, rather than ..read more

The current property markets can be difficult to navigate for first-home buyers with rising property prices and high interest rates, combined with housing supply issues. The main struggle for buyers is that we are seeing property prices rising whilst the lending market is tightening, which is making it more and more difficult to secure a home. Due to the current climate of high interest rates, many home buyers are also seeing their borrowing power taking a hit. However, the rising property prices aren’t seeming to slow down because demand continues to outweigh supply. In response to the curren ..read more

Vacancy rates remain critically low across Queensland with a new report revealing just one rental market in the entire state is deemed to be healthy. The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) Residential Vacancy Report for the March 2024 quarter said vacancy rates were as low as 0 per cent in Queensland, with rental availability remaining critically low across much of the state. Of the 50 local government areas and sub regions covered in the report, vacancy rates fell in 22, were stable in 10 and climbed in 18, compared to the previous quarter. The report said the changes did not, however ..read more

Trying to break into the market? It can be equal parts daunting and exciting to prepare to dip your toe into the world of home ownership.   Recent reports have found that Australia’s average house deposit is around $120,000 (bearing in mind that the typical first-home buyer’s deposit is between 5 per cent and 20 per cent of the property’s purchase price).  It’s no small figure, and it indicates that saving a deposit is often the biggest hurdle faced by aspiring home owners. The latest Domain First-Home Buyer Report, released in February, found that the average tim ..read more

South-east Queensland developer KTQ will bring a taste of luxury living to the southern end of the Gold Coast with a small number of its multimillion-dollar apartments open for short stay.  The 116-apartment first stage of the mixed-use Kirra Point precinct has been completed and residents have moved in.  About 30 of the apartments, however, have been returned to a rental pool, according to KTQ development director Jeremy Holmes.  “There’s nothing like this at the southern end of the Gold Coast … there’s not a lot of luxury accommodation at Kirra,” Holmes told The Urban Dev ..read more

Indooroopilly in Brisbane’s south-west has a little bit of everything. A riverside suburb, Indooroopilly has the largest shopping centre in Brisbane’s western suburbs, it’s home to a number of parks including Witton Barracks Park, and its proximity to the Brisbane River makes for a nature-fuelled lifestyle with all the conveniences of living near the city. The area is well known for excellent schools, which has often drawn families to the suburb. While a sought-after place to live, it’s not often there’s an opportunity to buy brand new. We’ve had a look at the best projects currently on the ma ..read more

Sunshine Coast property prices have reached record levels again, with a dramatic rise since the onset of COVID-19. The region’s median house price reached $1.042 million in March, according to real estate experts PropTrack. That’s a slight increase from a month earlier ($1.04 million) and was a significant leap in quarterly growth (up 2.7 per cent) and yearly growth (8.81 per cent). Houses were worth a staggering 69.48 per cent more than they were in March 2020, a few months into the pandemic. The region’s median unit price ($764,000) was also on the rise. It’s experienced 3.29 per cent quarte ..read more