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Oct 5, 2018
West Village in October
As West Village welcomes the first of their residents to the newly completed Park and Lexington buildings, October sees multiple openings and events taking place. The Common The Common will be available in October for residents and community to enjoy. The new public space offers an abundance of abundance of lush plants, tall trees, grassy areas, lights, art pieces and water pop jets to make it the perfect urban escape. It is designed to complement the newly restored façade and the historic 1928 Peters Ice Cream Factory. The Garden Pantry The Garden Pantry will open its doors on October 10. This park side food retail precinct offers three of Brisbane’s best foodie experiences: Cheeky Poke Bar, Salt Meats Cheese and Mr Bunz. The Garden Pantry overlooks the Peters Ice Cream Factory and The Common, making it a contemporary food paradise where the dining experience is like no other. Brisbane Open House Brisbane Open House is a free public festival that celebrates Brisbane's architecture and offers attendants the opportunity to see inside heritage-listed or architecturally significant buildings across the city - including a historic tour of the Peters Ice Cream Factory. For more information, see the Brisbane Open House website here. WV Fashion Parade The West Village Fashion Show will take place on October 24 at as part of Brisbane Fashion Month. This outdoor show set to be bright, bold and full of life. The event will feature some of Brisbane and Queensland's most talented designers such as Rachel Burke, Maiocchi, Wilde Willow, and Jericho Road showcase incredible pieces for the season ahead. For tickets, see here. The Bromley Gallery The Bromley Room #2 gallery will open mid-October on the ground floor of the historic Peters Ice Cream factory. This is the second stage of West Village’s artist-in-residence project. Along with being the perfect space to showcase the art, sculptures and homewares from Bromley & Co, the expansive warehouse-style space will provide a spectacularly unique backdrop for any kind of function, event or soiree.
Oct 4, 2018
Queensland Rental Code Under Review
Property owners and renters are invited to have their say as the State Government plans to overhaul 40-year-old renting laws. The review looks at how to make it easier for renters to have pets and have repairs done sooner, along with provide greater power for owners to charge for repairs not covered by rental bonds. Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said the reforms were long overdue and in response to increasing densification and population growth. “In South Brisbane alone, we have seen a 123 per cent increase in the numbers of rental properties coming into the market,” she said. Rentals make up 60 per-cent of household in South Brisbane, with half the renters in the area living in apartments. Many residents are renting longer, with 43 percent of Queensland tenants renting for more than 10 years. Housing Minister Mick de Brenni said that “mum and dad” property investors have nothing to worry about. “These tenancies are ripe for reform,” he said. “So what we really want it to get to is the nub of how we can make renting fairer for everybody,” he said. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state needed contemporary residential tenancy laws. “The last full-scale review and changes to regulations dates back to the 1970s. It is well and truly time for another now,” she said. There is an online survey open for public comment and submissions to the department will be open until 30 November.
Oct 4, 2018
The Property Market through Brisbane’s Lense
The general coverage from the national press now regarding the Australian property market is negative. This is to be expected given the Banking Royal Commission, and the gloomy state of Sydney and Melbourne, which is the lense in which the nation is generally viewed through. However, when looking at the market through a Brisbane lense, we see further growth. In the Brisbane market, it is acknowledged that affordability and lifestyle drivers are currently better positioned than ever. However, the sentiment around the Brisbane apartment market and future employment prospects are often misunderstood. Mosaic’s Director of Research & Strategy, Mr Peter Bell states that the feedback from people who have experienced multiple property cycles in Brisbane and South-East Queensland is universally along the lines of: “sentiment is continually improving, baffled why this improvement is not evident in the data as yet, but remain intuitively confident that it’s not a matter of if the Brisbane market will grow……it is simply a matter of when”. “Now is the time you want to be holding real estate in Brisbane and South-East Queensland. It is worth noting that we are not alone in this view, as the chart below indicates from the latest housing forecast report completed from CoreLogic-Moody’s released in June 2018,” Mr Bell said. Brisbane's decline for residential vacancy rates: SQM Research recently reported its vacancy rate index for May 2018. These figures indicated that greater Brisbane’s vacancy rate was now at 2.9%, down from 3.5% the same time last year. “Whilst there are still some challenges in very specific inner-city locations that consist of large volumes of high-rise apartment stock targeted at investors, the wider market is not being as adversely impacted as many incorrectly perceive,” Mr Bell said. In comparison, Sydney’s vacancy rate is now 2.5%, up from 1.7% the same time last year. “It could be hard to imagine but if these current trends continue, Sydney will have a higher residential vacancy rate than Brisbane in the not too distant future,” Mr Bell said. Vacancy rates remain one of the best indicators to track the supply and demand equation in real estate markets. Interstate Migration to Queensland: The surge in residents in Queensland is being driven by affordability and lifestyle in Queensland in comparison to Victoria and New South Wales. On an annualised basis, 22,500 people moved to Queensland for the year ending December 2017. This is the highest growth achieved over the past decade. During the December 2017 quarter, approximately 7,730 people moved to Queensland from other locations in Australia, with a significant portion coming from New South Wales. This positive migration to Queensland is forecast to continue as result of upcoming infrastructure pipeline and subsequent improvement in employment opportunities. Infrastructure will encourage Queensland Job Growth: The recently released Queensland State Budget 2018-2019 highlighted that $45.8 billion is allocated to infrastructure and capital works, representing the largest commitment since 2011. The Budget allocates large budget to a range of infrastructure project proposed for Brisbane which will drive future job creation and economic prosperity. “Whilst this strong infrastructure investment pipeline is not yet reflected by an improvement in employment conditions or increased residential demand for Brisbane or South-East Queensland market sentiment and logic would strongly indicate this is now only a matter of time,” Mr Bell said. The below BIS Oxford Economics chart illustrates publicly funded transport infrastructure spending on projects of $2 billion or more in value.
Sep 27, 2018
Heritage Houses in Brisbane: 1940 to 1960's
Brisbane is filled to the brim with heritage houses. In this mini-series we delved into architecture from different eras to help you understand the design premise of your dream home. In this article we look into houses built in the Post-war period, the 1940 to 1960's. During the Second World War (1939-1945) domestic building largely stopped in response to the war effort. At the end of the war, life slowly returned to normal. With returned service personnel starting families, and improving wages and working conditions, a national housing boom began. From the 1960s, brick-veneer project houses, built on concrete slabs, began to fill the outer suburbs - Centenary Park, Carindale and Carseldine - to name a few. However, there are some examples of International-style housing in suburbs such as St Lucia and Indooroopilly. Austerity During the post-war period, this style evolved in response to building restrictions into what has been termed the Post-War Austerity style. This refers to extremely plain, compact, usually single storey, houses, built on the ground on concrete slabs or on a brick base. They were often square or L-shaped in plan, but triple fronted examples were also built. International Sometimes descripted as a more sophisticated interpretation to functionalism. This style is characterised by its flat or low-pitched roof, elevated floors and large glass areas.
Sep 27, 2018
Heritage Houses in Brisbane: 1920 to 1930's
Brisbane is filled to the brim with heritage houses. In this mini-series we delved into architecture from different eras to help you understand the design premise of your dream home. In this article we look into houses built in the Interwar period, the 1920 to 1930's. The interwar building boom saw the construction of the porch-and-gable and multi-gable bungalows that characterise much of Brisbane’s timber-and-tin housing, particularly in suburbs such as Ashgrove. Many houses from this era were built through the Queensland Government Workers’ Dwelling Scheme. The era saw many influences from a diverse range of cultures. To a lesser extent, the 1920s and 1930s also gave rise to more derivative domestic architecture - Californian bungalows as well as Spanish Mission, Old English, Functionalist and Art Deco style houses and flats. These houses were often constructed in masonry and there are examples in suburbs such as New Farm, Coorparoo and Chelmer. Porch-and-gable This era saw a continued evolution of the bungalow style, as street-facing facades became more complex as design incorporating two or three gables with or without flanking verandas and sleepouts. The era’s economic downturn and depleting local timber stocks encouraged the rise to a more compact footprint with smaller verandas. The minimised design of the porches is counteracted with more extravagant gable decorations. Multi-gable Often characterized by decorated roof and asymmetrical front, the multi-gable has similar design elements as the M-roof cottage. A possible downfall of this design would be that rain builds up where the slopes meet but this is amended by a gutter running from front to back, perpendicular to the front of the building. The pitch of Multi-gable roofs is typically lower with wide eaves. Californian bungalow The Californian bungalow was ‘imported’ and made popular in Australia in the 1920’s. Key features of the buildings are generally the chunky columns holding the front veranda. Spanish mission Spanish mission buildings were inspired by the 19th Century Spanish religious buildings in Mexico, New Mexico and California and developed by in America where their presence in movies and culture saw an influence in Australia fashion. The characteristics of the Spanish mission include arched opening with ‘Barley-sugar’ columns and stucco wall finish. Old English revival/Tudor revival The English Domestic was a picturesque style rooting from the rural buildings of 16th century England. Characteristics included steep roofs, gables facing the street and facades of fake half-timbering. Elaborate version of the style was known as Stockbroker Tudor as it was used for prestige homes to give them the look of a stately manor. While humbler suburban homes would adopt a simpler version, sometimes known as English Cottage. Art Deco The Modernism movement saw the introduction of Art Deco, which began in France after the end of World War I as a sophisticated high-end style based on fine craftsmanship. The style is notable for luxurious finishes and materials, rich colour and stylised images. Functionalist The Modernism movement also saw the introduction of Functionalism. This style rejected decoration for the preference of purely functional design that was free of applied ornamentation. It is characterised by horizontal lines, curved corners and windows, along with flat roofs. Other features that can appear in the styling include porthole windows and tubular steel railings.
Sep 27, 2018
Heritage Houses in Brisbane: 1890 to 1910's
Brisbane is filled to the brim with heritage houses. In this mini-series we delved into architecture from different eras to help you understand the design premise of your dream home. In this article, we look into houses built during the Federation period, the 1890 to 1910's. By the federation period, most houses no longer had brick chimneys but were fitted with stove alcoves - designed to transfer heat away from the living areas. Bungalow The turn of the century saw the adoption of the Bungalow as the new standard for residential housing. The style is characterized by their low-pitched roofs that are continuous across the verandas. Designed with a symmetrical layout and various configurations of front-facing or surrounding verandas, porches, projecting gables and sleepouts. Asymmetrical bungalow A derivative of the Bungalow, as the variations of styling elements are endless. Asymmetrical and symmetrical layouts alike have various configurations of front-facing or surrounding verandas, porches, projecting gables and sleepouts. Queen Anne A large federation suburban Queenslander. Often characterised by their steep pitched and multi-facet roofs and asymmetrical frontage. They often have discontinuous veranda roofing and window awnings.
Sep 27, 2018
Heritage Houses in Brisbane: 1870 to 1880's
Brisbane is filled to the brim with heritage houses. In this mini-series we delved into architecture from different eras to help you understand the design premise of your dream home. In this article we look into houses built in the Late Colonial period, the 1870's to 1880's. Most of the typical 19th century houses around inner Brisbane date from the 1880s. Examples of this period houses can be seen in Paddington, Red Hill, Highgate Hill and East Brisbane. M-roof cottage An M-roof could be considered as a ‘double gable’. The M-roof features two sloped sides that meet in the middle with corresponding slopes on each side. A possible downfall of this design would be that rain builds up where the two slopes meet but this is amended by a central gutter running from front to back, perpendicular to the front of the building. The pitch of M-framed roofs is typically steeper to assist in runoff and to ‘catch’ less rain. Pyramid roof The Pyramid roof cottage is a more widespread type of worker's dwelling, which gave rise to the Queenslander style as we know it. The cottage often has steeply pitched corrugated iron roofs, stepped veranda roofs and brick chimneys which set these houses apart from later bungalow styles. These houses generally had a square design with an internal layout that allowed for two bedrooms, a sitting room and kitchen. Short-ridge roof with encircling verandas In similar fashion to the Pyramid roof cottages, the Short-ridged cottages are another widespread worker’s dwellings which have given rise to the Queenslander type of house. The cottage often has steeply pitched corrugated iron roofs and stepped veranda roofs, separated from the main pyramid roof. The house style often has a veranda facing the street which extend around the sides of the house. These houses are also often characterised by symmetrical stairs.
Sep 21, 2018
Selling a Property: Tax-smart Tips for your Investment
The Australian Tax Office has published some tips regarding buying property. This is part of a three-part series summarising those tips, blog posts are also made on advice on buying property and owning property. If you sell an investment property or the main residence that you have rented out, remember: You may have to pay capital gains tax. Capital gains tax is the difference between your cost base (costs of ownership) and your capital proceeds (what you receive when you sell the property or the market value when you transfer the property). You might have to pay this even if you transfer the property into someone else's name. If you have claimed a capital works deduction in any income year your cost base should not include these amounts. If you own the property for more than 12 months, you will be entitled to a 50% discount on the tax on the capital gain.