Luxury apartment specialist calls for more apartments to meet demand from burgeoning investor and homeowner markets

WORDS: Lee Gailer PHOTOGRAPHY Supplied

Property developers active in Southeast Queensland are being urged to consider the growing demand for apartments as the general population seeks more affordable, low maintenance options over a house and land for a variety of reasons, including Australia’s housing crisis, which is motivating investors to return to the market.

Leading Southeast Queensland property sales and marketing company TOTAL Property Group says a new wave of activity from homeowners and investors seeking one and two-bedroom apartments is an opportunity for property developers to deliver fast-selling quality apartments that meet demand.

TOTAL Property Group has been specialising in the Southeast Queensland property market for over 23 years, with the Group’s Managing Director Adrian Parsons drawing on more than 25 years of property industry experience to provide accurate market projections that guide developer clients in the early stages of development planning.

To forecast future property trends and predict where buyers will be coming from,  TOTAL Property Group looks at a number of market indicators, including local, national and international markets, weighing it all up against information from a database of more than 90,000 past, present and potential property purchasers.

In 2018 TOTAL Property Group began advising developer clients of a new wave of downsizing buyers unaffected by bank-lending restrictions or economic uncertainty. This was prior to the global pandemic and developers who took TOTAL Property Group’s advice have commended the team for its accurate foresight.

Mr Parsons says there is now a new wave of activity from homeowners and investors seeking one and two-bedroom apartments, opening up opportunities for fast-selling quality apartment developments.

“While we are currently seeing unprecedented demand for high-end luxury apartments in Southeast Queensland’s prime locations, and will continue to see growth in this market, we are now seeing demand increasing for smaller, more affordable apartments in the outer suburbs of Southeast Queensland’s cities,” Mr Parsons said.

“The apartment market is strong at both ends of the spectrum. Investors are coming back and homeowners now consider apartments a more obtainable and convenient option to traditional house and land living, so we encourage developers to think about providing smaller affordable apartments in some of the outer areas that have untapped potential.

“In the same way we saw a burgeoning market emerge for large luxury apartments as early as 2018 that developers were previously not providing product for, we are now seeing a growing market of people that need and want to buy something in the lower price ranges that are currently undersupplied.

“New urban communities are popping up in previously untapped middle ring and outer suburbs and there is opportunity for quality apartments to be developed. Developers need to look outside the inner city, river and beachfront to suburban areas with the infrastructure that will support new apartment communities and sites large enough to create exciting residential apartment developments.”

A classic example of a development catering to the homeowner/investor market is the highly successful residential development Summerlin Banyo in Brisbane’s northeast. Presented to the market by TOTAL Property Group, Summerlin Banyo comprised an eight-stage development of 188 apartments and townhomes and met market demand with smaller, yet generous-sized apartments and resort lifestyle amenity and is a sellout by TOTAL Property Group.

“When a developer comes to us and asks us what they should build, we help craft the development based on what we see happening in the market and where we forecast the buyers will be coming from. Our process when working with a developer is to make sure the development is on point and will sell well and outperform the competition,” Mr Parsons said.

“We are at the coalface of buyer demand across Brisbane, Gold Coast and Northern New South Wales and receive large numbers of inquiries from all types of people looking for property and we take the time to collect a wide scope of information from these potential property buyers.  The significant date we collect from over 500 potential buyer enquiries each week is a reliable source of information to help us form a view of where market demand is heading, to assist our developer clients position developments to a ready and waiting active buyer segment.

“With our understanding of what’s happening in the property markets we assess a site and the long-term needs of people living in these areas, taking into consideration the location and its potential, the size, our market predictions and so forth, so we understand exactly what is happening in the market and where it is going.

“By looking at the broader picture, developers can gain an understanding of what the market will look like in three to five years from now so they can get ahead of the game. A property developer can no longer just look at historic data to make decisions, as the property market changes quickly, but we have the tools and expertise to guide them and ensure the best outcome for their developments.

“Over the last decade, particularly with rising costs of living, we have seen a shift in the housing market away from the traditional house and land, and apartments have become the more attractive option by many sectors of the market. For some it’s simply about affordability, while for others it’s the convenience of a low maintenance lifestyle and for the majority it is about being able to live in a certain location.

“We have had a lot of population growth in Southeast Queensland, and all indicators are pointing to this continuing, which gives developers an opportunity to incorporate developments that will meet demand from owner-occupiers requiring more affordable housing solutions and investors seeking good rental returns.”

TOTAL Property Group specialises in working with developers from inception and design to off-the-plan sales, all the way through to settlement, providing extensive research and development to guide all the “layers and levels” that go into creating the DNA of a product.

By the time TOTAL Property Group takes a development to the market, the team can say “hand on heart” that the building and its apartments exceed market expectations and is well positioned for success.

“It is important for us that we get it right as it makes our job much easier and we turn over the product quicker,” Mr Parsons added.

“This includes every single layer of the development in terms of location, orientation, who the builder is, the architect and interior designer. We work with the development team on the entire product until it is fully sold and settled, making sure the fitouts and amenities and the pricing and marketing approaches are spot on.

“We are concerned with all the detail because this is a high stakes business. Near enough is not good enough.”

TOTAL Property Group has earned a reputation over the past 23 years as a dynamic, innovative and progressive property organisation, acknowledged for consistently delivering the highest quality service and support to buyers and sellers alike.

The team is based in Southeast Queensland with offices on the Gold Coast and Brisbane, as well as in Sydney to service the influx of southern buyers looking at opportunities in the Sunshine State. For more information phone 1300 393 855, email [email protected]

or visit  www.totalpropertygroup.com.au.