At least 13 Chinese investors from Sydney have purchased two apartments each in a high-rise Brisbane apartment project under construction, in a sign that the flight to the cheaper capital city is well under way.
Food and wine trader Longyi Liang paid 10 per cent cash deposits for a $670,000 two-bedroom apartment and a $430,000 one-bedroom loft in the Chinese backed Sandt Developments' $180 million apartment project known as Utopia, in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley.
"I think the apartment prices in Brisbane will rise about 4 to 5 per cent this year," Mr Liang said, "They are really cheap compared to Sydney and I think they will be easy to rent," he said.
Price per square metre across the 300 high-end apartments in the planned 25-level tower range from $7500 a square metre to $8400 a square metre. New apartments of similar quality and location in Sydney would cost well over $12,000 a square metre.
Sandt Developments' $180 million Utopia apartment project in Brisbane has attracted significant Chinese interest and investment. Supplied
The latest data from CoreLogic RP Data suggests the median unit price in Sydney is about $630,000 while in Brisbane it is only $378,750.
Mr Liang's interest in Brisbane reflects a growing trend of Sydney and Melbourne buyers looking to south-east Queensland for cheaper homes. There is also interest because some buyers feel Sydney and Melbourne prices have reached the top.
Mr Liang said he had "a feeling that Melbourne prices are going down. I don't really know too much about the Gold Coast either – the prices there change really fast".
Sandt Developments chairman Tom Sun said there were at least 13 investors from Sydney's Chinese community that had purchased in the Utopia development.
Sandt Developments' $180 million apartment project in Brisbane called Utopia supplied
"We have nearly 200 unconditional sales and we have had people from Sydney and Melbourne," Mr Sun said. He has previously said that Brisbane's new Queens Wharf casino and resort project had helped create awareness of the city.
The success he has had so far is part of why he is now looking to buy development sites in Brisbane to build apartments. He is not concerned about oversupply in Brisbane where there are at least 13,000 apartments under construction.
However, the city has been processing record quarterly apartment sales.
Sydney-based real estate agent Wei Liu came to Australia from China seven years ago and has also invested in the Utopia project.
Real estate agent Wei Liu says Brisbane has much more potential than Sydney or Melbourne. Supplied
"Sydney prices have been climbing for some time and while I believe the market here is growing at a sustainable rate, Brisbane has much more upside potential," Mr Liu said.
"South-east Queensland is a fast-growing and rapidly changing area and I think it is only in the past year that southern investors have started waking up to the opportunity there."
Utopia's sales manager Jeanette Jensen said southern investors were increasingly seeing Sydney and even Melbourne as "over-cooked".
http://www.afr.com/real-estate/sydneys-chinese-investors-buy-up-big-in-brisbane-20160114-gm5m6i
Food and wine trader Longyi Liang paid 10 per cent cash deposits for a $670,000 two-bedroom apartment and a $430,000 one-bedroom loft in the Chinese backed Sandt Developments' $180 million apartment project known as Utopia, in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley.
"I think the apartment prices in Brisbane will rise about 4 to 5 per cent this year," Mr Liang said, "They are really cheap compared to Sydney and I think they will be easy to rent," he said.
Price per square metre across the 300 high-end apartments in the planned 25-level tower range from $7500 a square metre to $8400 a square metre. New apartments of similar quality and location in Sydney would cost well over $12,000 a square metre.
Sandt Developments' $180 million Utopia apartment project in Brisbane has attracted significant Chinese interest and investment. Supplied
The latest data from CoreLogic RP Data suggests the median unit price in Sydney is about $630,000 while in Brisbane it is only $378,750.
Mr Liang's interest in Brisbane reflects a growing trend of Sydney and Melbourne buyers looking to south-east Queensland for cheaper homes. There is also interest because some buyers feel Sydney and Melbourne prices have reached the top.
Mr Liang said he had "a feeling that Melbourne prices are going down. I don't really know too much about the Gold Coast either – the prices there change really fast".
Sandt Developments chairman Tom Sun said there were at least 13 investors from Sydney's Chinese community that had purchased in the Utopia development.
Sandt Developments' $180 million apartment project in Brisbane called Utopia supplied
"We have nearly 200 unconditional sales and we have had people from Sydney and Melbourne," Mr Sun said. He has previously said that Brisbane's new Queens Wharf casino and resort project had helped create awareness of the city.
The success he has had so far is part of why he is now looking to buy development sites in Brisbane to build apartments. He is not concerned about oversupply in Brisbane where there are at least 13,000 apartments under construction.
However, the city has been processing record quarterly apartment sales.
Sydney-based real estate agent Wei Liu came to Australia from China seven years ago and has also invested in the Utopia project.
Real estate agent Wei Liu says Brisbane has much more potential than Sydney or Melbourne. Supplied
"Sydney prices have been climbing for some time and while I believe the market here is growing at a sustainable rate, Brisbane has much more upside potential," Mr Liu said.
"South-east Queensland is a fast-growing and rapidly changing area and I think it is only in the past year that southern investors have started waking up to the opportunity there."
Utopia's sales manager Jeanette Jensen said southern investors were increasingly seeing Sydney and even Melbourne as "over-cooked".
http://www.afr.com/real-estate/sydneys-chinese-investors-buy-up-big-in-brisbane-20160114-gm5m6i
