Strata levies waived as riverside luxury beckons for first homebuyers
Ideally located between the city and Parramatta, these ready-to-live-in apartments are an attractive option to get a foot on the property ladder
2 min
First homebuyers can kiss strata levies goodbye for the first two years under a unique offering at One The Waterfront, a boutique luxury development at Wentworth Point. Developer Piety Group and agents Laver Residential Projects are offering all buyers free strata levies for the first two years of ownership, valued at about $11,000 in savings.
As interest rates continuing to rise and trades still in high demand, it’s good news for those looking to enter the market.
Project director at Laver Residential Projects, Sam Elbanna, said the incentive, available via Kanebridge Finance, is to provide buyers with clarity and free up funds to protect their investment.
“Now buyers know they are covered and they can use the next two years to plough the money that would have gone to strata levies into their mortgages,” he said.
Overlooking Parramatta River, One The Waterfront offers one, two and three-bedroom apartments among leafy, thoughtfully designed landscaped gardens. The residences have been designed by Stanisic Architects with careful attention to light, ventilation and connection to the outdoors to create a true community environment.
With access to more than 5000sqm of green space, One The Waterfront offers amenities including walking tracks, barbecue facilities, exercise stations and children’s playgrounds.
This is in addition to a fee free commercial gym, swimming pools, tennis courts and an outdoor rooftop cinema. But perhaps the most outstanding feature in this resort-style locale is Club One Lounge, an exclusive, discreet space with communal dining room and lounge, 20-person cinema and games room.
In addition to the Parramatta Ferry, public transport options include rail stations at Rhodes and Olympic Park to the city, as well as the planned Light Rail stop directly in front of the development linking locals to Parramatta.
It’s a lot to offer on a site less than 15km from the city centre, Mr Elbanna said.
“One of my buyers was a developer of another project who is buying for his daughter,” Mr Elbanna said. “He said that there is simply no way this development can be replicated and sold at these prices again in such close proximity to the Sydney and Parramatta CBDs.”
One The Waterfront is now on sale. Email property@kanebridge.com.au to learn more about living in this community and claim free strata levies for two years, valued around $11,000 in savings.
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Ray White’s chief economist outlines her predictions for housing market trends in 2024
2 min
Ray White’s chief economist, Nerida Conisbee says property price growth will continue next year and mortgage holders will need to “survive until 2025” amid expectations of higher interest rates for longer.
Ms Conisbee said strong population growth and a housing supply shortage combatted the impact of rising interest rates in 2023, leading to unusually strong price growth during a rate hiking cycle. The latest CoreLogic data shows home values have increased by more than 10 percent in the year to date in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Among the regional markets, price growth has been strongest in regional South Australia with 8.6 percent growth and regional Queensland at 6.9 percent growth.
“As interest rates head close to peak, it is expected that price growth will continue. At this point, housing supply remains extremely low and many people that would be new home buyers are being pushed into the established market,” Ms Conisbee said. “Big jumps in rents are pushing more first home buyers into the market and population growth is continuing to be strong.”
Ms Conisbee said interest rates will be higher for longer due to sticky inflation. “… we are unlikely to see a rate cut until late 2024 or early 2025. This means mortgage holders need to survive until 2025, paying far more on their home loans than they did two years ago.”
Buyers in coastal areas currently have a window of opportunity to take advantage of softer prices, Ms Conisbee said. “Look out for beach house bargains over summer but you need to move quick. In many beachside holiday destinations, we saw a sharp rise in properties for sale and a corresponding fall in prices. This was driven by many pandemic driven holiday home purchases coming back on to the market.”
3 key housing market trends for 2024
Here are three of Ms Conisbee’s predictions for the key housing market trends of 2024.
Luxury apartment market to soar
Ms Conisbee said the types of apartments being built have changed dramatically amid more people choosing to live in apartments longer-term and Australia’s ageing population downsizing. “Demand is increasing for much larger, higher quality, more expensive developments. This has resulted in the most expensive apartments in Australia seeing price increases more than double those of an average priced apartment. This year, fewer apartments being built, growing population and a desire to live in some of Australia’s most sought-after inner urban areas will lead to a boom in luxury apartment demand.”
Homes to become even greener
The rising costs of energy and the health impacts of heat are two new factors driving interest in green homes, Ms Conisbee said. “Having a greener home utilising solar and batteries makes it cheaper to run air conditioning, heaters and pool pumps. We are heading into a particularly hot summer and having homes that are difficult to cool down makes them far more dangerous for the elderly and very young.”
More people living alone
For some time now, long-term social changes such as delayed marriage and an ageing population have led to more people living alone. However, Ms Conisbee points out that the pandemic also showed that many people prefer to live alone for lifestyle reasons. “Shorter term, the pandemic has shown that given the chance, many people prefer to live alone with a record increase in single-person households during the time. This trend may influence housing preferences, with a potential rise in demand for smaller dwellings and properties catering to individuals rather than traditional family units.”
Consumers are going to gravitate toward applications powered by the buzzy new technology, analyst Michael Wolf predicts
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
