Brisbane’s riverfront house sales top $100m, Johnston Dixon report data shows

Riverfront housing may well prove to be the star performer for the surging Brisbane property market as sale values already smash the $100m barrier.

$11.1m paid was paid for this waterfront property at 90 Virginia Ave, Hawthorne.

Riverfront housing may well prove to be the star performer for the surging Brisbane property market this year, with the market generally performing well over the first half of the calendar year although high-end apartment sales are down at least 20 per cent.

Riverfront house sale volumes are presently tracking 64 per cent higher than this time last year, and total sales values are already past the $100m barrier, even though the actual sale price of four properties are yet to be revealed.

At this time last year, sales volumes were $84m, according to Johnston Dixon’s interim River Report released exclusively to The Weekend Australian.

Most significantly this year, Brisbane has now recorded its first $20m-plus riverside house salewith the $20.5m purchase of Amity House on 2127 sqm of riverside land at 101a Welsby St, New Farm, in the inner city.

The elegant back yard of 90 Virginia Ave, Hawthorne.

Looking forward over the balance of the calendar year and beyond, the current lack of quality river listings and the principally migration-driven sharp uplift in demand should at the very least result in the current positive market conditions continuing, even if there were further interest rate rises this year and into next, said Johnston Dixon chief executive John Johnston.

However, Brisbane’s higher-end apartments valued at more than $2m were affected by plunging supply from postponed or abandoned new projects, according to the River Report.

In the year to date, there have been 33 $2m-plus high-end riverfront apartment sales, compared with 42 apartment sales for the previous corresponding period last year.

“We are coming off an incredible halcyon year – we had an incredible year the previous year,” Mr Johnston said.

“Given that so many projects have been postponed or canned completely, that may positively ­affect pricing if the supply chain is broken. Short of something ­drastic happening economically, there should be upward pressure on ­prices on higher-end apartments.”

The report found the total number of absolute riverfront house sales in the year to date rose from 17 to 28.

The highest absolute riverfront house sale so far this year was the $11.1m paid for 90 Virginia Ave, Hawthorne, which is situated on a 1619 sqm block.

However, riverside house sales are down year on year to date, from 21 to 17, a 23 per cent easing.

Total riverside sale values also dropped, albeit only marginally, from $65.655m to $61.905m.

“As predicted as likely in my last annual River Report, the magical $20m river sale mark has now been breached with the sale of historic Amity House on 2127sq m of riverside land at 101a Welsby St, New Farm, which transacted just recently at $20,500,000,” said agent Josephine Johnston-Rowell, of the Johnston Dixon agency.

When it comes to demand, absolute water frontage is beating all comers.

“Also on an easing sales path is riverfront apartments, where sales are down 21 per cent year on year, from 42 to 33, with the highest settled sale year to date the $6.9m paid for a 435 sqm apartment in “Argyle” at 3/49 Maxwell St, New Farm in Brisbane’s inner city.”

Looking forward, Mr Johnston said that with riverside house sales next year there would probably continue to be a lack of stock at the top end of the market.

CoreLogic’s August figures revealed that Brisbane recorded the highest increase in home values of 1.5 per cent, followed by Sydney and Adelaide, with both seeing home values rise by 1.1 per cent.

“Sydney has led the recovery trend to date, with a gain of 8.8 per cent since values found a floor in January this year,” CoreLogic ­research director Tim Lawless said.

“Brisbane has also posted a strong recovery, with values up 6.2 per cent since bottoming out in February.”