A universal love for warehouse apartment living has fueled the niche market sector in Australia to new heights in the past 12 months, as the country goes mad for industrial chic, high ceilings and exposed brick.
High demand for converted warehouses, individual properties or newly released developments, has led to record prices and lightning fast sales across the country.
The latest high-profile luxury listing; a four-bedroom renovated warehouse on Elizabeth Street, Waterloo, a gentrified inner city Sydney suburb 4km north of the central business district, has gained huge interest, according to Phillips Pantzer Donnelley selling agent Alexander Phillips, and a price guide, which is an approximation of what potential buyers believe it is worth, of A$2.4 million (US$1.8 million).
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"We’ve received a lot of very good interest from various markets from all over Sydney, mostly home buyers but also investors," Mr. Phillips said.
"It’s just a unique property that is at the top of the price range for Waterloo," he said. "It’s not your standard renovation, and people like that it doesn’t look the same as every other house."
Australia’s in-demand warehouse apartments, once used as light industrial sheds, commonly find a second life after being converted into residential housing. They offer large, airy interiors, high ceilings and unique interior detailing that has broad appeal to design-savvy inner city professionals and families, who might otherwise be looking at buying a house. The rarity of the listings and convenient inner city locations makes them highly sought after, driving demand and underpinning prices.
Last year, a Surry Hills warehouse in inner city Sydney sold for A$7.95 million (US$6.07 million) at auction, setting a new price record for the suburb and putting it alongside some of the city’s most exclusive areas.
5 Bennett Place, Surry Hills, Sydney set a new suburb price record when it sold for $7.95 million in December, 2016.
Sydney Sothebys International RealtySpanning an enormous 780 square meters over three levels, the four-bedroom, four-bathroom Bennett Place home had a price guide of A$7 million and attracted both local and international interest, including expats.
The natural light, high ceilings and convenience of living within 2km of the city were the main attractions for buyers, according to Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty listing agents Harriet France and Tony Barron.
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Pictured is an interior view of the four-bedroom, four-bathroom Bennett Place home.
Sydney Sothebys International RealtyThe sale beat the suburb’s previous highest price, also achieved by a luxury warehouse, which sold for A$7.55 million in 2015.
Warehouse units catching on throughout the country
The warehouse boom isn’t limited to Sydney, either, with properties in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide also highly sought after.
A four-bedroom multi-level architecturally-redesigned New York-style warehouse at 2 High Street in Fremantle, 20 kilometers south of Perth’s central business district sold in less than a week for more than A$3 million (US$2.3 million) in December through luxury agent William Porteous Properties.
In Brisbane’s riverside suburb of Teneriffe, the heritage-listed Carson Woolstore apartments continues to be the most sought after address, commanding prices in excess of A$1.6 million (US$1.2 million).
Tightly held, many of the apartments have been redeveloped into contemporary spaces, retaining the original 1911-style charm, offering buyers a low-maintenance urban lifestyle, and a home with high ceilings, polished hardwood floors and exposed brick.
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Everything old is new again
Redeveloped warehouse buildings have also found favor among buyers, with two recent releases attracting thousands of interested buyers and selling out days before being officially launched to the market in late 2015.
Cornerstone Property Group’s iconic Griffiths Teas heritage landmark, on Wentworth Avenue in Surry Hills, was left empty and boarded up for 30 years before PopovBass architects redesigned the building into New York-style warehouse apartments, which will be completed this year.
6000 people registered their interest for the 38 warehouse apartments within the Griffiths Tea building in Surry Hills.
CBRECBRE took 6,000 registrations of interest for the 38 apartments, with each property fought over by up to six buyers, according to selling agents at the brokerage.
Caroline Fagerlund, CBRE’s director of residential projects, said its uniqueness helped drive its success.
The New York-style warehouse apartments will be completed this year.
CBRE"The fact that Griffiths Teas was such an iconic building that had laid dormant for 35 years also generated a lot of interest," she said.
"Due to the warehouse being in its true original form, buyers were confident that they were getting an authentic warehouse apartment on the fringe of the CBD [central business district]," she said.
The apartments sold in August 2015 for between A$1.225 million (US$940,000) and about A$4 million (US$3.1 million).
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Similarly, the release of a converted 1912 factory at 1 Lacey Street also in Surry Hills, with 38 warehouse apartments and seven terrace penthouses, attracted interest from about 4,000 registered parties, selling out in September 2015, for between A$790,000 (US$604,000) and A$5 million (US$3.8 million).