Green Square Blog

Private developers have invested heavily in the Green Square precinct and there is plenty in the pipeline. Landcom was appointed by the State Government to design and oversee much of the area and they engaged development manager Mirvac.

Mirvac projects include the 28-storey Ovo development, The Finery in Waterloo, the smaller Ebsworth apartments with a mix of one, two and three-bedroom options and Ovo at Portman Place, which is a smaller scale project of just 14 boutique apartments.

Other notable developers in the space include Crown Group, whose Infinity development is due for completion in 2019; Bridgehill, which is building on several Green Square sites; Lateral Estate and also City West Housing- a state government-backed company creating affordable accommodation for low income workers.

Buyers will see more opportunity as developments are completed, with a number of resales likely to come onto the market. These will come largely from investors affected by a crackdown on investment loans by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

What this means is that the rules have changed for borrowers. Investors have to find more money, which is now harder to borrow and they have tightened restrictions on investment only loans. So some investors who paid deposits with the intention to borrow money later are no longer eligible to do so. They will need to sell.

It’s already taken effect. If you look at some of the developments that settled six or eight months ago, half the lights are off because the buyers weren't able to get finance. The regulations have also affected first home buyers and foreign investors.

A great example is the huge Infinity development, which is still a couple of years away from completion. There were hundreds of apartments and they sold out in about four hours. Plenty of buyers were foreign investors, so we are expecting some resales there.

There will also be resales at the next three projects to be completed; Mirvac’s Ovo, The Finery and nearby Emblem, by JQZ, which are a few weeks away. They all sold off the plan and no doubt things have changed for some of those buyers.

The large number of projects in the pipeline has seen the inner city apartment market be Sydney’s first to sway away from sellers and towards buyers. The house market is still reasonably steady for sellers, but the apartment market is certainly favouring buyers.

 

Published by Trevor Back

Principal, Raine & Horne Green Square

Phone: 0428 006 900

[email protected]

 

 

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