During the past few weeks at Enclave Property Group we have seen a spike in one- and two-bedroom apartment enquiry resulting in a flurry of sales.

There are two sectors of the market driving this trend. Firstly, the first home buyers with their 5% deposit relaxation by the federal government, combined with record interest rate lows are seeing them enjoying unprecedented opportunity to finally enter the market place.

Here at Enclave we have seen Graduates in their first year of employment snap up anything around that $350k to $450k range in Unison. We also sold to a lovely young man who is a professional tailor in the Brisbane CBD who bought his first home here in Unison for $570K. He looked for several weeks around the inner suburbs of Brisbane including West End and Woolloongabba. When he found Unison located in Newstead with its proximity to his employment in the city and all the amenity of Gasworks retail precinct and the beautiful river walks, he found this area to be in a class of its own and decided to call Newstead home!

The second market segment with increased interest in the one and two-bedroom offerings are retirees.

Currently, those self-funded individuals or couples are receiving around 2.5% on their cash term deposits. If they are fortunate enough, for example, to be able to buy outright a one bedroom for $400k, they will enjoy a 4% net return. Not to mention they may realise some capital gains whilst cash in a term deposit is fixed with limited growth potential.

The last few days has seen one of the most loved and respected ex CEO’s of one of Australia’s most prestigious property development companies snap a beautiful little 2-bed 1-bath apartment with river views in Unison for $515K as an astute addition to his property portfolio. This lovely residence rents for $515 per week, making it a very attractive alternative to money sitting in the bank. This husband and wife couple also saw the many benefits that Unison and Newstead offer and also a very healthy rental market which subsequently increases yield and has positive effects on their hip pocket as the rents gradually increase over time.

So good news I believe over the next six months to one year for the entry level market. Those who have sat on their one bed or two bed investments with little growth may hopefully have their turn to see some gains as all the financial indicators point toward this commodity having so much to offer.

Bye for now