Brisbane market saturated with apartments

The Brisbane market has become saturated with high-rise apartments, with aggregate stock levels sitting at 1,683 apartments, or more than two years’ worth of supply.

At current clearance rates it will take 26 months to sell the current stock of apartments, according to the latest Midwood Investment report for the May 2011 quarter.

New projects added to the Brisbane stock count include the “ultra-high rise” 289 Infinity apartments being developed by Meriton on George Street in the Brisbane CBD, 77 apartments in Capitol on Peel Street, South Brisbane, Madison Heights and 286 apartments in the Madison Heights development in Bowen Hills.

The highest stock levels are in Fortitude Valley (381 apartments for sale) – where Alex Perry Residential is marketing the first of its apartment blocks – followed by the Brisbane CBD (348) and Bowen Hills (325 apartments).

The stock built up comes as Queensland lost its crown as the population growth capital of Australia for the first time in nine years, attracting 89,083 new residents in the year to June 2010, compared with 105,421 new residents in NSW.

In addition, unconditional sales of new apartments in Queensland has remained stagnant for the three month period ending 31 May 2011, according to the according to the Midwood Report.

Total unconditional sales for new apartments in the state’s major growth regions totalled 405, compared with 464 in the same period a year ago.

Sales of new high-rise apartments were particularly sluggish, with Gold Coast recording 51 unconditional sales and Brisbane 189 sales.

Brisbane sales are up on the February quarter, when 116 sales were recorded, but down on the 206 apartments sold in the November 2010 quarter.