MOST apartment developers have experienced a lean period since the GFC, with investors and banks both wary of putting money into new projects.
But with interest rates falling ever lower, and investors battling to find better alternatives for their hard-earned money, there is hope that the market has turned.
Finbar, which was one of the few groups to come through the GFC in good shape, has experienced a lift in investor activity.
Managing director Darren Pateman said September had been a good month for the group, with $30 million in sales to investors.
At its Ecco apartment joint venture in East Perth, investors accounted for 40 per cent of sales.
Mr Pateman said this was below the traditional level of 50 to 60 per cent but was an improvement on the levels that had prevailed over the past year or two.
Finbar has grown to become by far the largest developer in Perth’s inner-city apartment market.
Its current projects include Adagio, Au, and Ecco in East Perth, St Marks in Highgate, and Lime in East Victoria Park.
With a strong balance sheet, a solid track record and all-important support from its banks, the group has been able to diversify into the Pilbara, with projects in Karratha and Port Hedland (see Principled approach gives Finbar an edge).
The only other developer with a Perth project of a scale near to Finbar is Singapore-based Frasers Property Group, which is developing the Queens Riverside hotel and apartment complex near the Causeway.
Queens Riverside is a relatively small project compared to those Frasers is undertaking in other states and overseas, but for Perth it is looking to lift the bar in terms of quality and amenity.
This was illustrated by the $3.5 million a Perth business family paid in August for the first penthouse apartment sold in the flagship Qlll building.
The level-24 penthouse apartment spans 260 square metres of living area with a terrace deck area of 171sqm.
The overall Queens Riverside development includes 438 residential apartments in three separate buildings, with commercial and retail suites, and Fraser Suites Perth, a 236-room all suites hotel.
The long-term supply of inner-city apartments will be bolstered by the Waterbank and City Link projects.
Lend Lease won the right to develop Waterbank, beating a competing proposal from Frasers, while a Leighton Properties/Mirvac consortium has been named as preferred developer of a 5.1-hectare site at City Link.
Half a dozen local groups account for most other multi-storey apartment projects under way or planned for in and around the city.
Match Properties is one of the most active, with developments under way at South Beach and Fremantle, following recent developments in Northbridge and Maylands.
Devwest Group combines residential, commercial and retail developments in its portfolio.
It recently commenced the nine-level Origin apartment building in Burswood, after appointing ProBuild as its construction contractor.
Devwest is also working on mixed-use projects in Como and Subiaco, and has three suburban shopping centre projects in its portfolio.
Otan, the funds management arm of builder Pindan, is another player in the market. Its major project is the $78 million NorthOne apartment project in Subiaco.
Psaros Property Group is a particularly active in Northbridge, while Tony Trevisan’s TRG Properties currently has residential projects in Port Coogee and Floreat.
