Unit values rising in inner Brisbane as buyers turn to apartment living

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A young Brisbane couple used the federal government's 5 per cent deposit scheme to crack the city's housing market in their 20s. Six weeks later, they say their unit’s value has already climbed beyond what they could afford. A basic brick walk-up unit in the same suburb recently sold for more than a million dollars.

Transcript

00:00This young couple never imagined they'd be able to break into Brisbane's property market in their early 20s.

00:09Without the scheme it would have been really tight for us, I think.

00:12The Federal Government's 5% homebuyer scheme helped get them over the line to purchase a one-bedroom unit in Brisbane's new farm.

00:19But not without its challenges.

00:21Realising that there were no properties coming up that we could afford was pretty scary.

00:27And then, yeah, when they did come up, going and seeing, like, so many people.

00:33Six weeks after they bought it, their unit has already gone up in value.

00:37It's certainly in the realm of $50,000, $55,000, but I'd say that that's because they purchase well.

00:42So, really good job by those buyers.

00:44Experts say units are increasing in popularity.

00:47It used to be the poor cousin to houses, but now, you know, people have noticed the differential between houses and units.

00:53And, you know, the affordability is really driving that trend.

00:56Just a few streets over, a basic brick walk-up unit has sold for over a million dollars.

01:02And experts say there's no turning back, as inner city properties keep climbing.

01:07Ben Lobey estimated this property in the low 700s this time last year.

01:12Almost every sale we're seeing is just incrementally moving forward.

01:15And if that happens twice a month, they're moving pretty quickly, yeah.

01:19New Farm saw an 11% growth in unit prices compared with just 8% for houses.

01:24It's bittersweet because we've got owners on one side who are very excited because obviously they're starting to make money.

01:30But then we've got a lot of people that have been trying to buy one.

01:32People in the office, our friends, our football teams.

01:34His best advice?

01:36To get in now, if you can.

01:38To get in now, if you can.

01:39We'll be back in now.

01:40We'll be back in now.

01:41Then take a minute to see if the rest of the roof is big.

01:42It seems like it's big.

01:43You can see the living room.

01:44Have a great deal.

01:45To get there.

01:46If you can do this, you can just make a little house up.

01:47We'll be back in now.

01:48We'll see if you can.

01:49Take a couple of days later.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended