What are new apartment buyers in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs looking for? MatterFact Insight
As Sydney exits winter, the Eastern Suburbs new apartment market is starting to hot up once more.
Despite the chill setting in, enquiry across Australia's most affluent region remained strong.
Q1 2024 saw the highest level of enquiries for the Eastern Suburbs on Urban since 2022, surpassing the previous peak in Q4 2023, according to data from MatterFact, Urban.com.au's new data product.
While demand cooled from the Q1 spike, Q2 2024 was comparable with Q4 2023, showing a prolonged increase in demand in the last three quarters in the Eastern Suburbs.
Demand in Q1 2024 was primarily driven by the upper end of the market. There were more enquiries for apartments between $2.5 million and $4 million than there were for apartments priced under $2.5 million.
Q2 saw a shift back to affordability, with the final release of apartments at Crown Group's Eastlakes apartment development, The Grand Residences. The two-bedroom apartments in The Grand Residences are selling for well below $1 million.
Due to a shareholder dispute, Crown Group was placed into provisional liquidation in August 2023. The apartments are now being released to the market in an ordinary wind-down of the Group.
The first stage of the project, above a vibrant precinct with 15 retailers, features Crown Group’s signature high-end amenity that includes a 25-metre heated pool, gym, landscaped gardens, BBQ facilities, and rooftop deck with panoramic views.
Bondi Junction proved to be the most popular eastern suburb in Q2 2024. It was the most searched postcode on Urban in the three months to July, followed by Rose Bay, Bellevue Hill and Maroubra.
The Centennial Collection, at the eastern end of Bondi Junction bordering Centennial Park, is the only new development in market in the area. The two adjoining 10-level buildings with 73 apartments feature two swimming pools, one on the roof and one winter pool, protected on the side of one building.
The Centennial Collection is on target to be completed by late 2025.
Its developer, Stargate, filed plans for another Bondi Junction site recently, just 400 metres down the road from The Centennial Collection. They're proposing 111 apartments across a 15-level building designed by SJB at 362-384 Oxford Street, on the corner of Oxford and Newland Street.
There's been significant newsworthy activity across the Eastern Suburbs in Q2 2024, however the most significant was probably from Bondi Beach where the penthouse atop Hall & Campbell at 124-126 Campbell Parade, developed by Allen Linz's Rebel Property and Eduard Litver's Capitel Group, sold for a record $105,000 per square metre.
The $23 million, five-bedroom apartment sits atop the building that is currently under construction by Trescon.
The redevelopment of the Coogee Bay Hotel into a mixed-use development with 58 new apartments above 11 new retail spaces was greenlit, while builder, developer, and architect powerhouse Orosi sought to create one of the largest developments Rose Bay has seen in decades.
The Rose Bay plans submitted by Orosi for 1 The Avenue. Image supplied
At the halfway point in the year, we pulled together the top new proejcts that are expected to be live and in market before the end of 2024.
To see that list, which covers projects in Bondi, Edgecliff and Rose Bay, click here.
