Inner city Brisbane apartments are some of the least affordable of all Australian capital cities, according to a new report.
A CoreLogic RP Data property pulse quarterly report released this week shows that while Brisbane continues to enjoy some of Australia’s most affordable inner city housing, the news is not so good for unit and apartment hunters.
Of all the state and territory capitals, Brisbane trails only Sydney and Darwin when it comes to unit affordability within 10 kilometres of the CBD.
According to the report, the cheapest inner Brisbane suburb to buy a unit or apartment is Holland Park West, where the median price is just more than $347,000.
Gordon Park, Kedron, Tingalpa and Moorooka round out the top five, with median apartment prices in those suburbs hovering just below the $350,000 mark.
By comparison, five inner city suburbs in Melbourne – a property market repeatedly spruiked as over-inflated by industry experts – all have median apartment prices below $340,000.
The most affordable suburb in the Victorian capital is the city fringe borough of Carlton, where buyers can snap up an apartment for an average price of $316,000.
However, Brisbane inner-city apartment prices still fall well short of prices commanded in Sydney, where the average unit price in all but one of its most affordable suburbs are more than $550,000.
Paul Riga, associate director in residential economic and market research at property analyst Urbis, said the statistics did not necessarily tell the full story.
He said Brisbane prices could be higher than in other cities due to its relatively immature inner-city apartment market, in comparison with more established cities such as Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.
“It’s important to keep in mind the Melbourne apartment market is well established in comparison to Brisbane, it’s a lot more mature, particularly in inner city suburbs, and the relative age of apartments does dictate price,” he said.
“New supply coming on board can drive the median price upward.”
Brisbane is in the midst of an inner city residential apartment construction boom, with many raising fears of a glut in the market as more and more stock comes on line.
That could, however, work in favour of home buyers, with many industry analysts tipping developers will have to lower prices to offload apartment stock.
Urbis research indicates the fears of a glut may have been overblown, with demand for apartment living reaching record levels in the River City.
“Generally it’s hard when comparing cities because you are not necessarily comparing apples with apples,” he said.
“We have construction hotspots at the moment, Newstead for example, where there is a push towards density in areas we previously haven’t seen any and only two to three kilometres from the CBD, which is unheard of now in Sydney and Melbourne.
“There is probably also a shifting demographic, we are seeing Brisbane moving into that apartment market style of lifestyle.
“I believe Brisbane will be a different city in 10 years time; there will be a lot of infrastructure in the zero to five kilometre residential development ring.”
While the news for apartment and unit hunters may not be its rosiest at present, the news is much better for Brisbane house buyers.
Free standing homes in the River City are among the most affordable inner city buys in the country, with only Hobart and Adelaide offering them cheaper.
Flood prone Rocklea remains the inner city’s most affordable suburb, with a median house price of $353,030.
Keperra (median $439,015), Tingalpa (478,686), Salisbury ($485,570) and Nathan ($487,265) make up the top five.
By Kim Stephens