Wuzhong's first foray into Australia proves popular with apartment purchasers

Wuzhong's first foray into Australia proves popular with apartment purchasers
Urban Editorial April 2, 2019

Bowen & Queens is Wuzhong’s first foray into the Australian apartment market, and despite reports of a property downturn, Wuzhong Australia have boldly launched a 19 level residential project with a gross realisation of $160m.

Wuzhong is one of China’s top real estate development companies and is enjoying strong leads and sales during a time of much trepidation in the Australian property market.

The move to launch a 19-storey tower of 214 apartments may appear to be counter-cyclical, but Wuzhong’s David Shen believes that there are several key factors that have lead to a strong start to the sales campaign for the project.

Urban.com.au asked Wuzhong Director David Shen for insight into what the development company is doing differently.

“With the population of Melbourne increasing at the rate in which it is, there will continue to be buyers for projects of high quality, and those with a strong outlook for capital appreciation. While this is a time of recalibration in the property market, we are confident in the Bowen & Queens project for these reasons. Our strategy has been confirmed with a particularly strong start to the sales campaign, and ultimately we have enormous confidence in the long term Melbourne property market, and specifically we have confidence in the future growth of area around the Bowen & Queens site,” says David Shen.

Wuzhong's first foray into Australia proves popular with apartment purchasers
Wuzhong's first foray into Australia has experienced early success. Image: Supplied

Wuzhong has shown further confidence in the Melbourne property market with another $240m worth of apartment projects in the pipeline.

Bowen & Queens' location is a key factor in its early success, according to David, who notes that St Kilda Road set to be revitalised in the coming years with the construction of Anzac Station that is currently underway.

David continues, “The construction of the Anzac Station is another key selling point in our project. It is about 50m from the Bowen & Queens site, so incredibly easily accessible for residents. The station will bring new restaurants, cafes, and other local amenity to residents of the area, and purchasers can see it being built right now. This makes a strong point for future capital appreciation in the area, and purchasers are well aware that the area will no doubt flourish in the future.”

Feedback from purchasers at Bowen & Queens shows the quality of the project and the location have been driving factors in deciding to purchase within the project, and many purchasers are combining two apartments within the building to create large, three or four bedroom homes.

The Bowen & Queens location is incomparable. Discerning residences offer views over Albert Park Lake, Port Phillip Bay to the South West, as well as city views across the lush green treetops of Melbourne’s acclaimed Royal Botanic Gardens to the North East.

As well as location, the price point of Bowen & Queens is lower than comparable developments of a high quality finish in the area.

During the project’s launch event in late February, the project enjoyed a staggering 15 sales during the few hours of the event itself, and 20% of the project was sold after launch weekend.

In a time when many property projects are pushing out timelines and enduring slow sales, this strong start to a sales campaign shows confidence in the Bowen & Queens project from purchasers who are getting in quickly to secure a new home in the fast growing pocket of South Melbourne.

David Shen says, Our objective is to deliver a spacious and genuine home with high quality amenity for residents - a place where they feel connected and can embrace the surroundings. The elegant design and warm finishes, complemented by sweeping views and the development’s ideal positioning, presents a compelling opportunity to purchases, and as such we are selling well during a time of unease in the property market.”

David Shen’s confidence is refreshing to see in the current climate. He concludes, “Three undeniable factors that drive residential sales the property industry are quality of product, location, and the likelihood of strong capital appreciation. With the early success that we’ve enjoyed with Bowen & Queens, we will certainly be looking to tick all these boxes again in our future projects.”

Bowen & Queens is located at 2 Bowen Cresent, and is being sold through Fletchers Projects. The price range is from $405,000 to $4,904,000

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