Sexy Still Sells

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday April 3, 2003

Harvey Grennan

Good design is proving its worth for marketing units, especially in a slowing market.

THE apartment market in Sydney is finally slowing in response to dire warnings

from the Reserve Bank, but developers with a "point of difference" are still writing

good business.

Sales, particularly to investors, have slowed to the point where one leading project marketeer predicts that 25 per cent of off-the-plan projects being marketed will not eventuate because pre-sales will not meet bank requirements. "None have been cancelled yet, but it will happen," he said.

A sign of the times is the return of marketing incentives to help push sales. Meriton is again offering a guaranteed gross rental return of 5 per cent to investors for two years on its units.

Elsewhere, the picture is no less grim. Developments in inner Melbourne and its Docklands precinct are not doing well and a major project in Brisbane, The Georgian, has been aborted.

But apartments are still selling well in areas where there is not a lot of competition, according to Australand general manager Peter Dransfield. "This is what investors are looking for," he said. "There is little chance of capital growth in areas with a massive supply coming on."

The days of unit developments selling in a single weekend are gone, says Realty Marketing's David Milton, but good design and quality finishes still attract buyers. "We have gone back to a normal market where the good stuff is selling and the not-so-good is languishing," Milton says.

Nearly 80 of 133 apartments in the third stage of Pacific Square at Maroubra have been sold since the February launch, following the sell-out of the first two stages late last year. Good design is credited with the sale in eight weeks of 47 of the 77 units in Precision at Crows Nest. There were 250 inspections in a single weekend and healthy sales at the Domain development at Narrabeen, even though the units are priced well above the local market.

The final stage of Australand's Balmain Shores has also proved a winner because the units are what the local market wants - one-bedroom units, some with studies. Sixty-five out of 87 have sold since November.

And Mirvac just can't seem to put a foot wrong. It sold all 133 villas and apartments in the first stage of the luxurious Ephraim Island development on the Gold Coast in three days with an average price of $977,000.

Rare find

The Old Post Office at Jerry's Plains in the Upper Hunter Valley

Built in 1881, the Old Post Office is a B&B, coffee shop, three-bedroom residence and weather station: each morning a reading is taken from the back yard and sent to the local Singleton TV station, earning the resident about $10,000 a year. Set on more than 2000 m sq of land with a saltwater pool and chicken coop, it's ideal for someone who likes to keep busy.

Agent: Ray White Singleton, 6572 4055.

Price: $390,000.