High-rise

You can almost count on one hand the number of high-rise apartment developments to launch in Mermaid Beach in the last five years.

The last two, Dawn and Bela, both by the South East Queensland developer Mosaic Property Group, sold out all of its 90-or so apartments within a few weeks last year, such the rarity of high-rise opportunities.

The latest opportunity comes from the Melbourne developer Hirsch &amp; Faigen, who are seeing similarly quick-fire success at Yves, their $200 million, three-tower development at 7-9 Mermaid Avenue, designed by the renowned architecture firm Rothelowman.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=102451 project_image_fid=186075]

They&#39;ve sold half of the 146 apartments in the first two months of marketing, unsurprisingly with locals dominating the purchasing.

Hirsch and Faigen&rsquo;s QLD Sales Manager, Alex Jokovich, said the locality of buyers&nbsp;is a huge testament to Yves&rsquo; appeal to discerning locals who have a deep appreciation and understanding of the projects positioning in one of the coasts&rsquo; most coveted residential addresses.

Rothelowman&nbsp;noted the site presented a unique opportunity to create a transitional tower project at the junction between the intensity of cosmopolitan Broadbeach and the more traditional/ laidback vestiges that is well defined by places such as Mermaid Beach.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=102451 project_image_fid=186075]

&quot;Between the sleepless Broadbeach &amp; gentrified Burleigh, Mermaid Beach captures the diminishing modesty&nbsp;of the Gold Coast,&quot;&nbsp;Rothelowman&nbsp;wrote in their design statement to the Gold Coast City Council.

&quot;It is a microcosm with cafes, craft and culture. A community of locals and tourists relishing a more humble urban lifestyle than the north &amp; south.&quot;

Entry to Yves is through a&nbsp;deliberately intimate arrival experience which channels residents through lush subtropical plantings towards the entry, where residents and guests are then greeted by an expansive four-storey-height lobby space.

Yves comprises&nbsp;one, two and three-bedroom designs, in addition to the premium offerings of two four-bedroom, half-floor sub-penthouses and a single full-floor penthouse.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=102451 project_image_fid=186074]

High-rise developments always offer a great opportunity to create more extensive amenity spaces than a low-rise development to service its higher density.

Yves residents get exclusive access to the residents&rsquo; level 03 recreation deck, which features a resort-style pool, a gym, a sauna, an outdoor barbecue area and a kid&rsquo;s play space.

There&#39;s further amenity on the level 24 rooftop terrace, with a private bookable dining space and resident&rsquo;s lounge offering views over the Gold Coast.

[smartcode_project_cta: project_id=102451]

High-rise developments always offer a great opportunity to create more extensive amenity spaces than a low-rise development to service its higher density


Joel Robinson

Why the Yves, Mermaid Beach apartments, offer a rare opportunity in the exclusive suburb

Traditionally on the hunt for house-and-land, Perth&rsquo;s downsizers have been breaking new ground with a surge of interest in the high-rise market.

Sirona Capital have noticed the surge in buyer interest at their newest development 28 Lyall in South Perth, which they are developing in conjunction with Singapore-listed developer&nbsp;Chip Eng Seng.

They&#39;ve had commitments to almost half of their 98 apartments in the 37-level Bates Smart-designed tower, with construction soon to commence.

High-rise residences like this are filling a gap in the market, offering downsizers the best of both worlds, suggests&nbsp;Sirona&rsquo;s Managing Director, Matthew McNeilly.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=29229 project_image_fid=147623]

&ldquo;A lot of people in this market are finding that the perfect option to downsize is also an upgrade on the classic family home,&quot; McNeilly says.

&quot;28 Lyall&rsquo;s residences offer loads of space as well as the high-rise lifestyle features you&rsquo;d struggle to find in a house &ndash; starting with the views.&rdquo;

The near 100 sqm two-bedroom apartments are popular with downsizers, as are the 155 sqm three-bedroom apartments. They all feature engineered timber floorboards, kitchens fitted with European appliances, double glazed floor-to-ceiling windows and north-facing recessed balconies to take in the views.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=29229 project_image_fid=147626]

The most apartments located on each floor is four, with some levels homing just two or three apartments.

It&rsquo;s a deliberate choice which is part of the development&rsquo;s &lsquo;vertical village&rsquo; concept, says&nbsp;McNeilly.

&ldquo;Owner-occupiers like the fact that they&rsquo;ll know their neighbours &ndash; that&rsquo;s partly why we&rsquo;ve kept to a maximum of four residences per floor. They&rsquo;re designed as private, luxury homes with a lot of space, but they&rsquo;re still part of a tight-knit local neighbourhood.&rdquo;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=29229 project_image_fid=147616]

28 Lyall&#39;s location places it&nbsp;a five-minute walk from the Mends St Jetty and ferry service to Elizabeth Quay and the CBD.

The two-bedroom apartments start from $720,000

&ldquo;Downsizers are a savvy market and they know how property works &ndash; they want a spacious two-bedroom or three-bedroom place that feels like home but which is also going to be a good investment for the future,&rdquo; McNeilly added.

&ldquo;Premium high-rise residences like this are hugely appealing because they promise excellent growth. There&rsquo;s a lot of potential for those who take advantage of the window of opportunity with off-the-plan incentives.&rdquo;

Eligible purchasers have limited time remaining to secure government incentives on off-the-plan residences. This rebate for pre-construction contracts is 75% of the stamp duty paid for purchase, up to $50,000.

High-rise residences like this are filling a gap in the market, offering downsizers the best of both worlds, suggests Sirona’s managing director, Matthew McNeilly

Why downsizers are looking sky high in Perth

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Significant slowdown in dwelling commencements this quarter: Cameron Kusher

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Skyscrapers have been mooted as the best method to alleviate economic and geographic pressure when building in cities, according to a new report.
<a href="https://www.knightfrank.com/resources/global-cities/global-cities-pdf/knight-frank-global-cities-skyscrapers-2015-report.pdf" target="_blank">The Global Cities: Skyscrapers 2015 Report</a>, released by Frank Knight, found the higher the building, the higher the rent tenants will pay.
Knight Frank’s Head of Office Agency for Australia, John Preece, said the development of 'premium towers' is also increasing.
“From a commercial perspective, landlords can charge higher rents for upper floors, which could support the commercial position for high-rise development," Mr Preece said. 
<a href="/images/2015/06/03/skyscraper.jpg" target="_blank"> Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/06/03/skyscraper.jpg" alt="">
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Landlords loving high-rise developments

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People's Choice Credit Union’s conservative policy of not lending to buyers of apartments in high-density developments more than six storeys high will prove right if there is a property market downturn, according to its chief executive.
Steve Laidlaw, CEO of Australia's second-largest credit union, said the ban on lending for high-density apartments had cost the group business in the boom times, but would ultimately be a big plus.
"There is a bigger credit risk when it comes to high-density apartment living," he said on Monday, The Australian Financial Review reported.
Laidlaw’s statement came during the results announcement. 
People's Choice Credit Union increased its home loan book by about 8 per cent to $6.3 billion in the 12 months ended June 30, 2017, with owner-occupier loans making up 81 per cent and investors 19 per cent. It has 47 branches. Loans to customers in Victoria make up about 9 per cent of the residential lending book.
The group’s net profit after tax slipped 7.98 per cent to $33.1 million for 2016-17, with net interest margins falling as customers shifted to lower rate package products in a highly competitive market. Laidlaw said net interest margins were expected to stabilise in 2017-18.
The credit union has been expanding in Victoria from its traditional base of South Australia and the Northern Territory. 
On the risks of a downturn, Laidlaw said that he didn't think there would be a short-term slide in the apartment market in Australia, but if a downturn did happen, it would likely start with the high-density apartment market."
"Our risks to that space are pretty well mitigated," he said. "We've always been pretty conservative."
However, he expects residential property prices to remain strong and isn't predicting a price slide. 
Laidlaw expects the next movement in official interest rates from the Reserve Bank of Australia to be up, but borrowers have plenty of breathing space. 
"I think the next move is up. We probably think around mid next year at this point in time," he said.
According to him, the RBA will only raise rates in small increments and that most home loan customers across the financial services industry had built in sufficient buffers in the loans to still be able to service them in a higher rate environment.
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Ban on loans for high rise apartments right choice, says credit union CEO  

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EXPERT OBSERVATION
Lenders are reluctant to lend and buyers don’t want to buy when it comes to high-rise developments.
That’s according to RiskWise Property Research’s latest analysis of the construction industry which has been hit hard over recent months following the high-profile cases of the Mascot and Opal towers in NSW.
With cracks in both the Sydney towers, fears more will become apparent in other buildings and the need to replace combustible cladding in thousands of buildings throughout Australia, demand for units had dropped dramatically.
Lenders are proceeding much more cautiously too, and this includes non-bank lenders whose business model is to provide alternative solutions from the ADIs, and generally have a less conservative assessment of risk.
Add to that the issue of oversupply in many Danger Zone areas and there is very real risk for developers.
We have a situation now where lenders aren’t eager to lend and buyers don’t want to buy but we still have developers who are considering developing high rise.
Units in the pipeline for the next 24 months Australia-wide equate to 7.6 per cent of current stock. In Sydney there are 58,094 units in the pipeline or (9.5%) of current stock and in Melbourne there are 59,634 units in the pipeline or (8.1%) of current stock.
However, in the last three months to June 2019, only 8 per cent of stock sold in Sydney and in Melbourne, 12 per cent.
The high-profile issues around cladding and defects had created enormous ‘reputational damage’ across the entire industry and because of this, investors had lost interest in high-rise unit developments and were turning to “safer” house-and-land packages suitable for families.
And Sydney’s Mascot and Opal towers are not the only ones that have been hit with negative media coverage with a cladding fire taking hold in the 43-storey Melbourne building, Neo200, in February. In July, a development in Sydney’s Zetland was also forced to shut its doors on residents for eight months after reports of water damage and faulty fire prevention.
According to Knight Frank's Australian Residential Development Review, in Greater Sydney the value of sales of development sites suitable for high-density projects halved in the 2019 financial year, while average site values in both Sydney and Melbourne fell dramatically.
If you combine the recent quality issues with financial losses from investment in high-rise units, this could amount to a permanent structural change in demand.
In some cases developers, instead of assessing the true needs of the market, have developed large numbers of units and have needed to find ways to shift stock by using instrastate or overseas markets with high commissions that are often factored into the property price. A prime example of this type of poor risk management is the oversupply in the Brisbane unit market, as detailed in our case study of 2018, which resulted in lower valuations, rising defaults on settlements, heavy discounting and incredible incentives such as new cars.
We already have significantly reduced levels of demand due to restrictions on foreign investors, credit restrictions, banks refusing to loan to self-managed super funds and local investors looking elsewhere.
Add to that the high level of unit oversupply and it’s possible to see how structural changes could occur in a sense that the overall demand for off-the-plan dwellings shifts from units to house-and-land packages. Medium-density dwellings, such as townhouses, particularly in popular areas also enjoy higher demand.
Some developers were already struggling to meet pre-sales and / or sales targets in areas where there were high levels of stock and many had not proceeded to commencement. In other instances, according to recent media reports, development defaults were on the increase and many developers, such as the high-profile Ralan Group, had collapsed or were on the brink of failure.
 Without demand from investors, and other buyers, you don't have pre-sales or sales and the entire development is at risk. Obviously, an event of default is never planned by the developer. However, developers need to carefully assess the risk that they are taking the risk, and they need to be in a strong financial position to deal with the potential consequences and not be forced to do a fire sale.
Developers needed to do greater risk management and assess whether there was genuine demand for their product.
Demand for existing and off-the-plan properties, mainly units, began to lower with the introduction of APRA’s lending restrictions in 2017 followed by greater scrutiny of home loan applications.
However, with the addition of construction defects and cladding issues, greater government legislation within the industry and oversupply, demand had dropped even further and was now “extremely low” putting developers at higher risk of default if they did not do their due diligence.
DORON PELEG is the CEO of RiskWise
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High-rise

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