Developers push ahead with new residential projects across Australia

Melbourne may be in lockdown, but developers are determined to plough through the pandemic.

At the Burwood Brickworks development in east Melbourne, sales are continuing unabated. Of the 34 residences released to the market on June 27, 22 were sold. A further 12 will be released this Saturday (July 11), and with more than 200 names on the interested parties list, developer Frasers Property is expecting a good run of sales.

Development director Theo Della Bosca said while COVID-19 restrictions were at the forefront of people’s minds, the pandemic wasn’t deterring buyers.

“I think that people who are choosing to purchase at Burwood know and understand the project; they obviously have the money to purchase there and we don’t seem to be seeing any issues with purchasers,” he said.

“People are thinking now’s the time and that’s why, in my mind, people are compelled to buy right now.”

The launch of sales at Camberwell apartment project Victoria & Burke has also gone ahead despite Melbourne metro buyers facing six weeks of lockdown.

CBRE Melbourne’s managing director Andrew Leoncelli said downsizers were the primary market for the 16 apartments and many of them had made up their mind regardless of COVID-19.

“They want to downsize and are ready to buy today, with the view to settling when the project is completed in two years,” he said.

“Because Victoria & Burke has a two-year timeframe to completion, purchasers are undeterred by the present pandemic. We have already appointed a builder so we can keep construction running to schedule.”

Across the rest of Australia, developers are pushing ahead with their plans.

In Perth, developer Finbar has received approval for a 32-level tower on Adelaide Terrace. The $92 million project will house 119 studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments on the 1679sqm site.

Ronald Chan, Finbar’s chief operating officer, said coronavirus wasn’t going to stand in the way of the project.

“I think Perth is in a very fortunate circumstance in regard to COVID,” he said.

“People in Perth are pretty much back to normal, everyone is going about their daily lives. The issue of coronavirus is not so much in people’s minds at the moment.”

Finbar is currently selling off-the-plan apartments at four projects across Perth. Sales for the month of June were the highest since December 2018, Chan said.

In Queensland, Sydney-based company Weiya Holdings submitted a development application with the Gold Coast City Council for a luxury 14-level residential project with 36 residences.

The site will replace the historic Old Burleigh Theatre Arcade, but the theatre facade will be retained and the original theatre sign reinstalled.

Data shows these projects may be going against the grain. Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the number of dwellings approved dipped in May by 16.4 per cent nationally.

It’s likely to be the start of a downward trend in building activity across the country, said Housing Industry Association economist Angela Lillicrap.

“The decline in approvals in May is only the start of the COVID-19 shock in home building,” she said.

“We anticipate building approvals data will continue to decline for a number of months, due to the lag in the approvals process.”