41 Currie Street

After over 3 months of negotiations it looks like we have finally secured this office building and adjoining carpark for one of our clients based overseas.

We are really excited about managing this asset and adding substantial value with some strategic redevelopment in this fabulous location. Watch this space as we transform this property in a number of ways.

Florence Street Norwood

Florence Street Norwood is a new street in one of Adelaide's oldest suburbs. In the 90's the street and its surrounding land was purchased by the Norwood Football Club which intended to extend the Norwood Oval facilities in response to the AFL becoming an 'officially national' competition. When the need for the additional space did not eventuate, the football club sold it to various developers who rejuvenated it into the private residential enclave of modern townhouses that it is today.

Number 5 Florence Street is a modern contemporary townhome just metres away from the bustling atmosphere of Norwood Parade. But location is only part of the attraction - this architectural home is extremely liveable, with fabulous open plan living plus a north facing courtyard downstairs and 3 lovely bedrooms upstairs. Great bathrooms, stylish finishes and a roomy garage for 2 cars make this a must see home.

Click here to see sale details

Maxwell on the Park

If you're looking for an exclusive city apartment with a beautiful parklands outlook, this could be it. There are just 2 apartments per floor in this boutique building and you are moments from a cappuccino with Rundle Street east literally around the corner.

This is the signature Russell Prescott designed building in the famed Garden East project. We know the project well with Peter Buchan taking it to Hong Kong many years ago as one of the first South Australian projects marketed off shore in Asia.

The apartment represents true city living with no compromises because the available space is well over 250 square metres including 2 balconies. Facing east over East Terrace and the parklands allows appreciation of the changing seasons, Adelaide events and our vibrant cafe lifestyle.

Click here to view sale details

2011 - what's in store

7 interest rate increases in little over a year played a large part in ensuring that the local property market softened considerably towards the end of 2010. Add this to the significant downturn in international student demand due to the Australian Government's changes to visas, financial burdens placed upon students, and a strong aussie dollar, and the result is that the prices for apartments have slipped somewhat.

However, we are optimistic that the current malaise could be reversed very quickly. Resources, defence and education are still the 3 big games in town and we have heard that big things will happen in 2011 which will translate into a turnaround in demand for city apartments...

More mixed use buildings

Following on from our earlier features on mixed used buildings, last month saw 2 transactions in other mixed use buildings. We sold a top floor 2 bedroom Mantra apartment for $500,000. This 80 square metre apartment had a wrap around balcony and overlooked Hindmarsh Square with the Adelaide Hills in the background.

We were also instrumental in acquiring a 3 bedroom apartment in the building known as 22 The Square, which is part of the Garden East project sitting between the Rundle Street East Cafe Precinct and Grenfell Street. Our client paid $825,000 for this large apartment with 2 carparks and we facilitated foreign investment approval for the transaction.

We love doing these kind of deals in the city and equally love sitting down with our clients having cappuccinos in the ground floor cafes situated in these buildings while we are doing the deals!

Wakefield Street sales activity

We had a bit of activity in the building with our company selling apartment 31 for $830,000 and apartment 14 transacting for just under the million dollar mark in the past few weeks.

We think apartment 31 is interesting because we have been following it since the beginning of its fitout (see these stories) and it was the first apartment to sell to a buyer who wants to exclusively use the space for business purposes. The marketing company felt that the apartment matched its creative business perfectly by providing the ideal environment for the staff and principals. We were thrilled as we designed the spaces for residential, home office or studio/office uses from the outset and it's great to see when this versatility is recognised in the market place.

We have just listed another 2 apartments in the building both priced in the $800,000's and both offering stunning work/life environments. The volume of space offered by double height floor to ceiling space is something that needs to be experienced to be fully appreciated. Both apartments can be seen privately. Click here for more details.

Changing of the guard

Congratulations to our new Lord Mayor, Stephen Yarwood - a 39 year old town planner and city resident who appreciates that a city like ours needs people ... lots of people .,. living, working and occupying really great spaces in really great buildings.