Logan Central tops list of Brisbane suburbs with top unit yields

Logan Central is the Brisbane suburb with the greatest yields for units, according to RP Data figures.

With a median price of $150,000 and a Median Rent of $250, units in the suburb hav a median gross rental yield of 8.7%.

According to the 2011 census the suburb has a population of 6,172 up from 5,592 in 2006. The census shows 26.5% of Logan Central’s 2,308 dwellings are flats, units or apartments.

Logan Central is the central business district of Logan City, 20 kilometres south of the Brisbane CBD.

A search of real estate listings reveal no apartments priced below $165,000.

The cheapest unit currently available is 3/10 Blackwood Road with a negotiable asking price of $165,000. The two-bedroom townhouse is in a complex of six properties.

It comes with a second toilet and a single car park.

The property is being marketed by Meryl Woods from Run Property Springwood, who says it could earn $230 per week. If it sells for $165,000 this would give a gross yield of 7.25%.

It last sold for $105,000 in 2004.

According to RP Data median unit prices have dropped 42.7% over the last year. In September, REIQ figures showed prices had dropped 15% over the quarter but were up 10.9% for the year.

Local agents say the price fluctuations have been due in part to new developments in the area, but prices are down.

In September, local agent John Ahern from John Ahern Real Estate Slacks Creek told Property Observer prices were actually down around 15% for the year.

“The peak of the market was in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and then prices started trending slightly downwards during 2010, and by 2011 and 2012 prices tended to drop a little further,” Ahern says.

“They’ve dropped about 15% from their peak over the last 18 months or so.”

Agent Marian Grimsey from Professionals Logan Lifestyles Browns Plains and Marsden told Property Observer prices are desperately down from two years ago.

Apartment 7 at 28 Defiance Road is on the market looking for offers over $175,000. It’s being sold by Ioan Vancia also from Run Property, who says the unit is leased at $225 per week and could earn $260 per week plus. This would put the yield at around 7.7%.

It hasn’t sold since 1989, when it traded for $60,000. It was last on the market in 2009 listed at $199,000, discounted from $212,000.

Unit 4 at 13 Blackwood Road is listed at $179,000 through Tracey Child from All Properties Group. It’s currently rented at $250 per week giving a gross yield of 7.3%.

It last traded for $140,000 in 2005. It was last on the market every year since then with an asking price of $220,000 in 2010.

The Brisbane suburb with the next highest yields for units was Brookwater at 8.4% and Goodna at 8.2%.