29 posts tagged “admiralty”
Recent sales in Admiralty Two in Brisbane in May to July 2009
- Apt 20, level 4, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car, 103 sqm - $725,000
- Apt 80, level 14, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car, 103 sqm - $725,000
- Apt 97, level 17, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car, 116 sqm - $780,000
- Apt 106, level 18, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car, 116 sqm - $750,000
- Apt 137, level 24, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car, 116 sqm - $815,000
Source: Email from Alan Caughey, Harcourts
Photos of the Admiralty apartment precinct, on the Brisbane River. From left to right, the apartment buildings are Admiralty Towers Two, Admiralty One, Admiralty Quays and River Place. Note that Skyline and Macrossan are not river front building. Skyline is the gray building behind Admiralty One. Macrossan is still under construction behind Skyline and cannot be seen.
Introduction
Even though the vacancy rate is increasing in Brisbane, many of the good apartments for rent are hard to find. Often, this is because the existing tenant does not leave, and when they do become available, are snapped up quickly. For the better buildings, a large percentage of the apartments are occupied by the owner, and so are not rented out. Also, onsite managers often control the rental rolls, and don't often advertise on the usual property websites (as they don't need to do so). Some have their own website. Also, onsite managers may have a relationship with executive relocation services, that are fed the better apartments.
At one time, a good specialist website for apartments was http://www.seqrents.com.au However, it seems that some buildings are not using this site anymore, or are not bothering to update their listing on this site. So, although useful, it is less useful.
The largest number of listings are located on RealEstate.com.au, but a number of onsite managers do not use this website.
You have to find out how each manager advertises his/her vacancy.
Generally, you want to avoid any buildings managed by Oaks, as they focus on short term hotel style rentals.
Inner City Brisbane:
I recommend Arbour on Grey at SouthBank: http://arbour.com.au/cms/welcome.html
Also, Saville at SouthBank is one of the nicest buildings if you get a river facing apartment: http://www.seqrents.com.au/saville/index.htm. The best thing to do here is call, because the website is not updated regularly. Telephone 07 3305 2559
If you want to live downtown, then I recommend the Admiralty Precinct. This comprises three first-tier buildings (Admiralty One, Admiralty Two and Admiralty Quays), plus River Place (good location, not as good quality) and Skyline (second tier).
Admiralty One is good value, and has some of the largest two bedroom apartments in Brisbane - http://www.admiraltyone.com.au/
Admiralty Two also has good sized apartments, and the building has great facilities. http://www.admiraltytwo.com.au/
Admiralty Quays is newer, and has a great pool, but the apartments are smaller. and it is more expensive. http://www.admiraltyquays.com/
Nearby on the river in the city is River Place, that is not as good quality, but is likely to have availability as this is a large complex. Careful of Storey Bridge noise. Great views.
On Alice Street in the city, if you can get an apartment in Quay West, that is fantastic, as it has park and river views -- for long term rentals, the best agent to try is Blockside & Fergerson for this building. Half of this building is a hotel managed, so it is easy to get short term accommodation in Quay West. All apartments are privately owned. You want to get above level 7.
For
an inner city downtown building, Metro 21 is one of the better quality
buildings. It has only 4 apartments per floor -- and tries to be more
upmarket so is better than most buildings that aim at students -- it
seems to have better availability, and some of the two bedroom
apartments have three bathrooms. The baloneys are large: http://www.realestate.com.au/realestate/agent/metro+21+brisbane/mlibri
and http://www.metro21apartments.com.au/
Apartments in Suburbs
The suburbs that I recommend, due to location, transport and large number of better quality apartments, are Toowong, St Lucia, Taringa, Indooroopilly and possibly Milton and Hamilton. I don't recommend Chermside.
The newest complex in the Toowong / Taringa area is Fresh. This complex has two pools, a gym and great gardens. http://www.realestate.com.au/realestate/agent/acorn+realty+taringa/nrqhzu
Next door to Fresh is Encore, which is a relatively nice complex, with good pricing (but not as nice as Fresh, and some of the apartments are small). http://www.seqrents.com.au/encore/
St Lucia is harder to find quality -- there are few onsite managers. So you have to try local real estate agents, such as Ray White (who also has listings in Fresh).
In Indooroopilly, there has been recent construction, so there are a number of new, quality buildings. My two picks are Riva and Ciana.
Riva has apartments with great river views. It is a quiet building, with a pool, and is close to the train station and Indooroopilly Shopping Centre http://www.seqrents.com.au/riva/
Ciana is a larger new complex, in a central location, with many large apartments. There is a pool and gym, plus a bowls club! http://www.ciana.com.au/
If
you want an apartment complex that feels more suburban, then Parklands
at Sherwood is a great choice. Many apartments have park/rural views,
and there is a great pool and bbq area http://www.centralsherwood.com.au/.
Nearby is Tennyson Reach, where you can get a large new apartment on the river. This is a new complex, but (apart from river views) not a great location.
Also, look at the posts and links on this blog. This website has a list of most city apartment buildings, with useful information and links about them. Also, try this customized search engine.
This is a list by a selling agent about various inner city buildings:
http://www.openhouserealty.com.au/html/residential/21/apartment-buildings
This legal decision, concerning Admiralty Towers, highlights a problem that often arises in mixed use buildings. Admiralty Towers had a cafe on the ground floor associated with the onsite manager (and Open House Realty), that has been vacant for some time. At present, the by-laws do not allow cooking in the cafe.
http://rslr.justice.qld.gov.au/RSLRWEB/search/orderdetails.aspx?d=19542
Many new apartment buildings have mixed uses, that often raise disputes between residential tenants and other (usually commercial) tenants.
Admiralty Towers One - 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, 148 sqm, level 19, sold in March 2009 for $1,200,000
Admiralty Towers Two - 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car, 106 sqm, level 14 - sold in March 2009 for $725,000
Quay West - 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 1 car - 75sqm, level 4 - sold in April 2009 for $450,000
Riparian - 2 bed, 2 bath, level 41 - sold at auction for $1,400,000
Grosvenor - 3 bedrooms sold at auction for $1,535,000 on 3 July
It is rental season in Brisbane, and there is strong competition for apartments. Many people are delaying a buying decision, and so are renting. Some renters have locked in long term leases, taking these apartments off the market for some time. Some investors have put their apartments into a short term letting pool for nightly "hotel" rentals, taking these away from the permanent rental market.
- Ciana Indooroopilly, 2 bedroom rents range from $475 to $600 per week
- Parklands Sherwood, 2 bedrooms from $440 per week; 3 bedrooms from $540 per week,
- Fresh Toowong, 2 bedrooms about $500 to $550 per week
- Admiralty Towers One, which has large apartments
- Arbour on Grey, from $550 per week for a 2 bedroom
- Metro 21, has both furnished and unfurnished, and is not doing short stay rentals so the building is more stable and homely.
The Council has issued a plan for urban renewal in the wharf area under the Story Bridge. It looks like an excellent plan, and my guess is that it will increase the value of the apartments in the Admiralty precinct. It is called the Howard Smith Wharves redevelopment.
Meriton's Soleil, its first building in Brisbane, launches this weekend. (Completion of the building is planned for 2011 or 2012.)
It will be 74 levels, and 234 metres high, located at the end of Adelaide Street, behind Skyline and next door to Macrossan (which is under construction).
Floors 31 to 64 contain the apartments that Meriton will sell. Floors 65 to 74, comprising 42 apartments, are not for sale. Floors 30 and below will probably be 175 serviced apartments, owned and managed by Meriton. A total of 188 apartments will go on sale this weekend. They are 1 to 3 bedroom apartments. The 2 and 3 bed apartments have 2 bathrooms, and an underground carpark (up to 10 levels below Adelaide Street level).
On the higher floors (above level 41), there are five apartments per floor. There are 3 elevators for about 220 apartments, which is not a great ratio. (Admiralty Two, just nearby, has 191 apartments and six elevators.)
None of the apartments have balconies. Airconditioned, full length windows, and floor to ceiling tiles in the bathroom. Indoor pool and gym.
Here are some example two bed, two bath apartments:
Apartment 6001, level 60, views south down the Brisbane River over the top of Skyline, 79 sqm and 1 car park. Listed for sale at $823,000, which is about $10,400 a sqm.
Apartment 4205, level 42, limited views between Admiralty Quays and River Place, but good views over All Hallows, 83 sqm and 1 car park. Listed for sale at $672,000, which is just over $8,000 per sqm.
Apartment 5204, level 52, views over Admiralty Quays, 78 sqm and 1 carpark. Listed for sale at $688,000, which is just over $8,800 a sqm.
Compare existing, older stock of 2 and 3 bedroom apartments nearby:
- Admiralty Two, Level 4, direct riverfront, 103 sqm (including balconey), listed at $720,000
- Skyline, Level 27, river views, 102 sqm (including balconey), fully furnished, listed at $720,000
- Admiralty One, Level 18, direct riverfront, 3 bedrooms, 2 carparks, 150 sqm, listed at $880,000.
- Quay West, Level 16, river and park views, 120 sqm, listed at $850,000
- River Place, Level 13, direct riverfront, 116 sqm listed at $675,000 or $675,000
Overall, Soleil is in a great location, the floor plans seem to be well designed, and Meriton will deliver. Care should be taken when selecting, as some apartments will not have great views due to neighbouring buildings -- but some apartments should have great views (if you like heights!). The apartments are a little small for my liking, and I am not sure about lack of balconey.
Soleil is taking expressions of interest and they have started advertising.
"At Meriton we never compromise on quality with any of our apartments. You will always get the very best of everything at an affordable price. Meriton the country's only major developer that is 100% Australian owned and managed will be building a 74-level tower situated on Adelaide St within Brisbane's CBD called Soleil.
Soleil will be the most impressive building in Brisbane, with superb, affordable luxury apartments starting from the 31st floor, maximizing the outstanding views at every turn. This development will also include 30 commercial offices, 3 retail shops and 175 serviced apartments.
As with many Meriton developments, Soleil will have access to resort style facilities: an indoor heated lap pool, gymnasium, spa, sauna and theatrette."
As you can see from the image below, it blocks out Skyline completely.
My Groups
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Great Southern Land. Updated: Nov 7, 2009
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Brisbanites Updated: Oct 15, 2009
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Real Estate Advisor Updated: Aug 2, 2009
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