Developer Interest in High-Density Apartments Plummets
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Developer Interest in High-Density Apartments Plummets

With foreign buyers staying on their own shores, local residential development suffers.

By V. L Hendrickson
Wed, Jun 16, 2021 12:08pmGrey Clock 2 min

The market for residential developments in Australia is under duress.

Last year, total residential site sales in the country dropped to $4 billion, close to 65% lower than its 2014 peak of $11.3 billion, according to a report Tuesday from Knight Frank.

In addition, building approvals for new apartments sank below 40,000 in 2020 for the first time since 2013, the data showed. The pipeline for such units is set to plummet over the next three years, with 86,400 set to be completed by 2024, compared to the 135,300 that came online between 2018 and 2020.

Low-density developments are faring better, the data showed. Sales for those sites jumped 23.1% last year.

“Developers across the country are continuing to shift their focus and risk toward boutique apartment developments and diversifying their portfolios with low-density sites,” Shayne Harris, Knight Frank’s head of residential for Knight Frank’s Australia offices, said in the report.

Meanwhile, interest from foreign investors plunged in 2020, the data showed. There was less than $500 million of foreign investment last year, down more than 90% from its 2016 peak of $5.2 billion. It was the first time investment from foreign developers has dropped under $1 billion since 2012.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Australia closed its borders to foreign travel, meaning investors were not able to scout sites as they normally would. That’s kept many from committing to new acquisitions.

“Although we’re in uncertain times, we can’t underestimate the impact investors will have on the apartment market as they start to return across the country,” Mr. Harris said. “It’s only time before they’re lured back to the new apartment market given the cheap finance, a thinning new supply pipeline and lowered residential vacancy rates.”

Some experts also expect Australia is on the precipice of a boom in pent-up foreign demand as soon as borders open and immigration normalises, Mansion Global has reported.

Close to half of sales of residential development sites last year were in New South Wales, which had nearly $2 billion in deals in 2020, according to the Knight Frank report. Victoria followed, with just under $1.3 billion in transactions.

The Gold Coast defied the trend away from high-density developments, registering a 238% increase in site sales in 2020, the report found. At the same time, sales of such sites in Brisbane itself dropped 86%.

Reprinted by permission of Mansion Global. Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: June 15, 2021



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Property of the week: 10 Orient Court, Buderim

This sky-high home on the Sunshine Coast with iconic shipping container pool is a testament to modern design and engineering.

By Kirsten Craze
Fri, Sep 13, 2024 3 min

A breathtaking view and a lush quarter-acre block are high up the wish list with any lifestyle property, but this contemporary Buderim residence takes things to another level.

Designed and built by owners Stu and Nat Faid, the Sunshine Coast home reflects their vision and incredible attention to detail.

As an architect and designer, Nat believes a prime position deserves an incredible project.

“The heart of the house is undoubtedly the living area and expansive deck. At over 100sq m and elevated more than 6m above the ground, you literally feel like you’re floating. We love how the views stretch from the Glass House Mountains along the coastline to Mooloolaba. Across the ocean, you can even see the sandbanks on Moreton Island,” she says.

While the views and the 1024sq m land parcel make their mark, it’s the suspended 12m heated shipping container swimming pool that’s making waves locally.

“When people arrive, the first thing they do is look up,” Nat adds.

After purchasing the property in 2021, the pair knew the existing house wouldn’t live up to their family of four, but they fell in love with the location and outlook so decided to adapt.

Initially, the pool’s unique design was simply a reaction to an everyday Queensland problem, but ultimately became a feature.

“The pool was at first a product of practicality. We wanted to be able to watch the kids in the pool from the house, but to do that required elevating the pool more than six meters off the ground,” Stu says.

“When we looked at the engineering required, it conflicted with our minimal-touch ethos in preserving the land and the visual aesthetic of the finished design. What followed was a lot of searching for a solution, and as luck would have it, the answer was almost on our doorstep.”

Shipping Container Pools seemed like a no-brainer answer to the pool problem. Having moved internationally multiple times, the couple saw an opportunity to weave their personal story into the fabric of their new home.

“The opportunity to incorporate a nod to that chapter of our life into the build was too good to miss,” he says.

“It also unashamedly reinforces the origins of the pool construction, which ties into the rest of the design in the house. Throughout the home, we have embraced where the old meets the new, we have not tried to blend, cover or hide the origins of the home, we have chosen instead to make sure the evolution of the house is clear to see.”

The Faids’ global family journey is evident throughout the home, from the grand Middle Eastern entry doors sourced from Dubai where the couple once lived, to the remarkable views from the Glass House Mountains to Mooloolaba.

Created to enjoy every season, the house has a space for all eventualities with an open plan living area spilling out to the full-width deck and pool, a sleek kitchen with an Ilve integrated fridge and freezer, Bosch ovens, an induction cooktop, built-in coffee machine and microwave, two dishwashers, filtered water and a butler’s pantry.

Four spacious bedrooms each have built-ins, the main features a large ensuite with twin vanities and two more bedrooms share a“Jack and Jill” style bathroom. There is also a third full bathroom.

The Buderim home is 12.5kms from Mooloolaba and the Mooloolaba River National Park with the Sunshine Coast Airport 13.5kms to the north, however Stu adds that there is rarely a reason to leave.

“It would be fair to say that apart from popping down the hill to go to the beach, we often go days without ever leaving the village. It’s really is a wonderful spot.”

Packed with mod cons, the Buderim home also features six-zone ducted air-conditioning, engineered oak floors and a double-sided Stuv wood-burning fireplace, a mudroom, heated floors and sensor lights in the bathrooms. There is also a private elevator, solar power and battery, as well as landscaped gardens and a large lock up garage and shed.

The property at 10 Orient Court, Buderim is listed with Zoe Byrne and Greg Ward from Ray White Buderim and will go to auction on September 22 at 9am at Mercedes-Benz Sunshine Coast, 65 Maroochy Blvd, Maroochydore.

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This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan

35 North Street Windsor

Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.

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