Snippets from Afr article by Rebecca thistle ton 4 feb 2014
51,000 dwellings were approved in Australia – the highest quarterly result for almost two decades.
At the end of last year, 17,461 units were under construction in Melbourne and 21,546 had been approved.
In Sydney, 14,595 units were under construction at the end of the year and 24,525 had been approved.
Charter Keck Cramer director Sam Nathan said the market drivers in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were complex and different, largely characterised by Brisbane’s affordability, Sydney’s pent-up demand and Melbourne’s population growth and attractiveness to Australian and foreign investors.
Brisbane’s low vacancy rates, affordability and solid yields is expected to attract more investors this year.
Victorian Planning Minister Matthew Guy said maturity in the inner-city unit market made the CBD an attractive place to live and invest. “Melbourne has the fastest population growth in the country and the fastest approval system in Australia. We have been very aggressive in our support of high-rise development in the city,” he said.
In 2013, Sydney projects sold out upon release as supply flowed into a city starved of new apartments for a decade. On Saturday, more than $100 million worth of units in Bluestone Capital Ventures’ Woolooware Bay project in Cronulla sold in eight hours.
So – where to buy – Sydney , Melbourne or Brisbane?
What do you think?
