$50m sales for final stages of Iris Capital’s $1 billion East End Newcastle development

Apartments for sale in the final stages of the $1 billion East End development in Newcastle are flying off the shelves, with a whopping $50 million in sales in just a month. Read the details.

Iris Capital's $1 billion east end development in Newcastle CBD. Artist Impressions. Apartments in stage three and four are selling strongly. Supplied

It doesn’t seem high inflation and record interest rates are affecting Newcastle’s booming property market with massive sales being recorded for the final stages of the CBD’s prestigious East End development, despite not even being built yet.

Adding to their $350 million portfolio of sales in Newcastle last year, project marketers Urban Activation, which also head up sales for Thirdi Group’s the Dairy Farmers Towers and the Merewether Golf Club Retirement development, have pulled off a whopping $50 million in sales in just a month.

Buyers snapping up the first 35 of the 200 apartments in the $450 million final stages of the $1 billion project, inundated with interest from mainly local purchasers.

East End Village, Newcastle, NSW by Iris Capital.

“Dollar value would definitely be close to a record and just testament to the regeneration of that Hunter street precinct and the vision of the Iris Capital team,” Urban Activation Director of sales Matt George said.

“We had an extremely strong database from stage one and now stage two. A good grounding to go back to those people for investment or upgrading.

“Expected to be past 50% in sales by Christmas, that’s our target, the $250 million range by December. We expect to be sold out by mid to late next year.”

The vision for the East End Village spans twelve new buildings over four blocks, including the sold out first stage comprising of the historic Fabric House, Washington House, and Perkins & King buildings.

Iris Capital's $1 billion east end development in Newcastle CBD. Artist Impressions. Supplied

One of the apartments for sale. Artist Impressions. Supplied

They’ve been transformed into a retail and multi-residential precinct, centred on the open space of Lyrique Lane.

The final two stages - stages three and four - will see an array of high-end one, two and three bedroom residences, including eight penthouses, with price tags that start from $750,000, and up to $2.75 million for a three bedder.

The infrastructure spend over recent years transforming the city into one of the most sought-after addresses.

“Local amenity and infrastructure is an important consideration for a lot of buyers,” Proptrack economist Angus Moore said.

“One of the things we saw across the pandemic, people were really valuing local amenities like being near the beach or being near parks and something Newcastle offers that say Western Sydney doesn’t.

“Regions like Newcastle, within travel distance to Sydney, offer more affordable lifestyle and a lot more space at home, those areas have become a lot more attractive since the pandemic and we’ve seen that in population flows and house prices.”

The East End development. Artist Impressions. Supplied

Sales across the region again starting to pick up as prices stabilise.

“Prices have picked up over last few months, not a lot, up about 1.2% from December through to April according to Proptrack home price index,” Mr Moore said.

“In 2021 we saw 44% more sales than in 2020, so 2021 was a pretty busy year all round. It is a big change from 2022 when prices were falling.”

But Mr George said he has strong confidence in the Hunter market into the future as they try to offload more residential development, urging buyers to get in quick.

“Data in the last month, shows nationally that prices are on the move again, albeit slowly, and these sales show there is still a lot of market confidence for Newcastle,” he said.

“It’s the last opportunity to be part of the east end precinct.

“People wait around and are surprised they missed out but there’s still only 200 apartments in the project.

“We think it is an amazing precinct, the Hunter region and the depth it has got and we’re big believers in it for the coming years.”

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said it’s wonderful to see strong interest in an historic part of the city undergoing rapid and transformative renewal.

“City of Newcastle is proud to have undertaken significant planning work to protect the heritage of the East End, including the protection of important view corridors which are so iconic for our City,” Cr Nelmes said.

“Our shared vision for the East End Village is to reinstate Hunter Street as a traditional high street and an attractive destination for locals and visitors, with outdoor dining and boutique retail opportunities.”