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THE record-low interest rate is driving demand for apartments in Brisbane, according to research by Place Advisory.
The project marketing company's quarterly report shows an upswing in the weighted average sale price for Brisbane apartments reaching $606,469 in the past three months a 10 per cent lift compared to the previous quarter.
Despite sales volumes failing to meet the "record heights" in the December quarter, a string of apartment sales show an increase of 92 per cent when compared to the same quarter in 2014.
Place Advisory director Lachlan Walker (pictured) says the back-to-back results reflect a sustained, consistent confidence in Brisbane's apartment market.
"With total gross dollar sales for the March 2014 quarter reaching $742.9 million and this quarter's results sitting 200 per cent above the 10 year average, we can confirm that the Brisbane market is in a strong positon and we're now seeing the results of the high levels of demand we've observed in recent years," Walker says.
"These results were built on the strength of the previous record-breaking December quarter and show the Brisbane market continues to capitalise on affordability and high yields.
"This coupled with the historically low interest rate environment means confidence and sales have remained exceptional."
Total gross sales represented $742.9 million across a total of 1225 unconditional sales in the three months to March.
Sales across inner Brisbane remain supply-driven and are marked by one and two-bedroom apartment transactions representing 94 per cent of overall sales driven by price pointed investment purchasers.
Brisbane's top three performing projects across the quarter included Skytower with 170 transactions, followed by Southpoint Stage C with 130 transactions and Unison notching 124.
Walker remains optimistic about the future market and dismisses talk of oversupply in the Brisbane apartment landscape.
"Various statistics have implied that the Brisbane market will see an oversupply in the short-term, however we challenge these notions and we remain confident that Brisbane will remain undersupplied in the near-term," he says.
"Apartment demand is at an all-time high and while this is unsustainable we predict the cycle will enter a new era of higher quality, larger product in the more developed inner-city regions while traditional fringe suburbs will see for the first time, higher density development along the core transit corridors."
A number of project launches planned in the next six months is expected to sustain the supply.
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