Large sky inner-Brisbane sky homes are in demand as families abandon the ‘burbs to move closer to the CBD
Large sky homes are in demand with families wanting floor space of at least 250sq m to create a comfortable inner-city life.
Property
Don't miss out on the headlines from Property. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Super-sized apartments, some four times the floor space of the average Queensland house, are in great demand with no shortage of cashed-up buyers willing to splash some serious coin on a mega sky home.
Luxury units in excess of 1000sq m have changed hands regularly over the past 18 months in South East Queensland for millions of dollars.
Just recently an off-the-plan buyer splashed a jaw-dropping $11.5m on a 1025sq m penthouse in Azure Group’s, One Five Six Oxlade development in New Farm.
The floor space of the yet-to-built penthouse monsters the average-sized Queensland house which, according to the ABS, is 246sq m although those sized units are at the very pointy end of the market.
“Inquiries for super-sized apartments has doubled in the last 18 months … and this sale was the result of multiple offers from local families,” said Place agent Simon Caulfield who sold the property.
Leading the charge for sprawling apartments, and not necessarily penthouses, in the mid-level range are well-healed empty-nesters and ‘rightsizers’, say experts.
Some are trading in their ‘suburban ranches’ on an 800sq m plus block of the land in favour of a sky home but with children in tow who we call “right sizers”, says Ray White’s projects director Hamish Bowman.
They are wanting a minimum of 250sq m floor space, including the balcony, and multiple car parks, a wine cellar, pool and to be close to restaurants and shops, the New Farm-based agent said.
“One of the first questions they ask is how many car parks because it’s more than just a couple moving in, it’s their children as well,” Mr Bowman said.
“We call them ‘right sizers’ and many are transitioning from living in a suburban ranch to an apartment with a children still at university.”
However, there is a shortage of large inner-city apartments and it’s why many sizeable units are gaining in value much quicker than your cookie-cutter sized two or three-bedder, he said.
“Most of them are in great locations but there is a dearth of units of 250sq m or more,” he said.
“Some developers are even buying up units in existing blocks and amalgamating them because they know there is a demand for larger apartments.”
They’re seeking the vast floor space to have the same sized home without the maintenance worries of a swimming pool or garden, says Place’s co-managing director Sarah Hackett.
“We’ve seen a lot of empty-nesters in the mid to late-50s looking for large apartments,” Ms Hackett said.
“They are over having a large house with a garden and pool and want two living areas because they are used to being in a big house.”
At the high end of the market, the off-the-plan purchase in Oxlade St is one of the many eye-watering apartment sales during the pandemic property boom and it isn’t even the state’s biggest penthouse, nor the highest price paid for a home in the sky.
Possibly the mother-of-all apartments, a penthouse sprawling 1653sq m over three levels at Sea Pearl in Mooloolaba sold for $11 million in January last year.
The Sunshine Coast apartment may have been the biggest, but not in price.
A 1070sq m penthouse overlooking Surfers Paradise beach and Cavill Ave, within Soul, changed hands for $15.25m last May.
Penthouses in the soon-to-be-built Royale Gold Coast at Surfers Paradise will be 706sq m and about $12m while the half-floor penthouses are between 344-351sq m.
With an asking price of $20 million, a yet-to-be-built 800sq m penthouse across two floors at 50 Archer St, Toowong would be a Queensland record sale for an apartment of any size.
At the moment, that heavyweight apartment price title with 5/81 Hastings St at Noosa Heads which sold for a record $16.1m in October last year.
However, the 412sq m four-bedder is a baby compared to penthouses but packs an almighty punch when you break it down to $39,000 per square metre. At that price, a mega sky home in the same location could conceivably cost $39 million.
For those unable to find an established or an off-the-plan apartment that meets their floor-size needs, they are finding alternative ways to create them.
Three off-the-plan buyers of the Skye development at Kangaroo Point all bought two units and amalgamated them into three large apartments of more than 600sq m.
Initial interest in Monarch, a multi-level residential development on the former ABC site on Coronation Drive, has centred on larger apartments, said Consolidated Properties Group (CPG) executive James MacGinley.
Of more than 200 pre-launch inquiries the vast majority want sizeable three-bedroom units, he said.
“About 90 per cent of the inquiries want a three-bedroom apartment and we are mainly talking about people in their fifties whose children are in various stages of leaving or have left the family home,” he said.
SUPER-SIZED APARTMENT LISTINGS OVER THE PAST 14 MONTHS
1. 601 / 156 Oxlade Drive, New Farm – $11.5m January 2022
The penthouse spans 1025sq m and offers fabulous views of the CBD skyline and Brisbane River. It has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms and enough room for seven vehicles. It is one of 10 apartments to be developed at One Five Six Oxlade which has 34m of water frontage.
2. 2111/22 Refinery Parade, New Farm – For sale circa $10m
A unique design with two penthouses combined that sprawl over 738sq m in total. The design includes our bedrooms, four bathrooms and eight car spaces. It’s on the market with in the $10m range.
3. 56/410 Stanley St, South Bank – Undisclosed May 2021
OTT! A two-level penthouse with a master bedroom bigger than some inner-city apartments and a balcony that looks straight across the river to the CBD.
If you have ever looked back over your shoulder at River Quay Green at South Bank you’ll know exactly where this apartment is perfectly positioned.
The penthouse covers a massive 1153sq m but there are just four bedrooms although there are four bathrooms and five car parks.
4. 1101/87 Mooloolaba Esplanade, Mooloolaba – $11m Jan 2021
Possibly the mother-of-all apartments, if not in South East Queensland, then at least the Sunshine Coast. The penthouse has a floor space spanning 1653sq m over three levels, sweeping custom forge staircase, at Sea Pearl, Mooloolaba. It features four bedrooms, four bathrooms and 12 car spaces.
5. 10/49 Maxwell St, New Farm – Undisclosed Feb 2021
Another of the new breed inner-Brisbane developments with floor space of 1334sq m.
It contains four-bedrooms, six-bathrooms and five-car spaces with views across the Brisbane River to the Story Bridge and Kangaroo Point.
6. 1/6 Tilbrook St, Teneriffe – $6m Feb 2021
A six-bedroom apartment spread over 921 sqm in the Macquarie Residences billed as a one-of-a-kind penthouse when listed on the market in early 2021. It has five bathrooms and four car spaces and home theatre.
7. 19E/39 Castlebar St, Kangaroo Point – $5m Feb 2021
Costing just $5m it’s one of the “cheaper” penthouses to have changed hands. With a total floor space of 726sq m, it spans two full levels of Castlebar Cove’s True North East Tower with views of the Brisbane River, the Story Bridge, Howard Smith Wharves and the Gateway Bridge.
8. 7001/4-14 The Esplanade, Surfers Paradise – $15.25m May 2021
All the sparkle you need to live on the Glitter Strip is contained this decadent 1070sq m penthouse that overlooks Surfers Paradise beach and Cavill Ave. With five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and eight car spaces, no-expense was spared apartment constricting the zenith at Soul, Surfers Paradise.
9. 94/22 Montgomery Ave, Main Beach – $5.7m March 2021
About three times the size of the average Queensland house, this 758sq m penthouse contains four bedrooms and four bathrooms, It sits at the peak of the Waratah at Main Beach, it has two large living areas as well as two entrances off the foyer and a master bedroom with an ocean-view balcony.
10. 50 Archer St, Toowong – For sale $20m
Yet to be built, but due to be completed by early 2023, this apartment covers more than 800sq m over two levels including a private rooftop terrace with a private pool and views of Brisbane.
10. 601/1 Gray St, New Farm – $3.5m Dec 2020
With a total of 705sq m floor space it just scrapes into the top. The North East River penthouse has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and four car spaces.
Kath & Kim’s Jane Turner lists Melbourne mansion
Kath & Kim star, comedian and actor Jane Turner, has listed her rather effluent Elwood mansion for sale. Grab some cardonnay and take a squiz at the home’s impressive fretful ironwork.
Aussie suburbs now in the $1m club
Australia’s relentless house price growth has pushed a sweep of new suburbs into the million-dollar value club. Here are the new elite members.