Already a subscriber?Unit values are now rising at a faster rate than houses in more than half of all suburbs nationwide as a growing number of buyers take advantage of the sector’s cheaper price points after years of sluggish growth, data from CoreLogic shows., tight supply in the high density housing sector and increased demand from first-home buyers and investors could fuel sustained upturn in the sector over the near- to medium-term.
Across Melbourne, unit values rose faster than houses in half of all suburbs, in Adelaide, units trumped houses in more than half of all its suburbs and in Perth, units dominated houses in more than six out of 10 suburbs. “Demand for Brisbane apartments is the strongest I’ve ever seen in a long while and I think that’s only going to accelerate,” said Zoran Solano, Brisbane-based buyer’s agent at Hot Property Buyers Agency.“Just around five or 10 years ago, you couldn’t give a Brisbane unit away with a free set of steak knives. Now, we’re seeing multiple offers consistently and more units or apartments are selling 5 to 10 per cent above the asking price because it’s very competitive at the moment.
Unit values in Greenwich, Dundas, Burwood and Hurlstone Park increased more than six times faster than houses prices, and more than five times more than houses in Bronte, Ashfield and Willoughby.“We’ve definitely seen an increase in demand for apartments across inner Sydney, which I think is driven by affordability and attractive value for money that apartments offer,” said Thomas McGlynn, chief executive of Sydney real estate agency BresicWhitney.