Real estate says: investing in bricks and water

[:en]It’s summertime, and what’s better than relaxing at home in the evening over a cool drink and a stunning waterfront view? “Not much”, many in the real-estate business say.

“Living in a home with a water view gives you a great sense of freedom and relaxation,” says the director of residential projects at selling agency CBRE, David Lee, who is handling the 85-apartment development Cobalt, which is by the ocean at Dee Why on Sydney’s northern beaches.

“The water gives you such a feeling of tranquillity and, since something with a water view is in a good position and is never going to be built out, it will have good capital growth.”

A water view won’t necessarily be beyond most people’s budgets, either. Depending on where an apartment is, it can cost less than a third of the price of something on the harbour in a more exclusive eastern suburb.

Out west at Rhodes, for instance, one-bedroom apartments with a view directly on to water are priced from about $500,000.

“But a similar apartment on the water in the eastern suburbs in, say, Vaucluse could cost $1 million-plus,” says Yibin Xu, the managing director of Bridge Hill Developments, developer of the SJB-designed Monaco building on the waterside at Rhodes.

“Around 85 per cent of the apartments have water views, and people are always very keen to have such a view.”

Similarly, Bellona, the last building at Breakfast Point, on the peninsula with water views on three sides, is proving popular for developer Rose Group. Some apartments there, joint managing director Bryan Rose believes, have the exact reverse of the view from Vaucluse: looking down the harbour to the city centre.

“And they’re about half the price of that view,” Rose says. “There’s nothing better than being able to sit on your balcony with a cold drink and gaze at the water. People love long water views, and from there you can see the top of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.”

It’s also always good to buy an apartment that’s not too high up in a building with a water view, advises buyer’s agent Dennis Kalofonos, the principal of Sydney Property Finders.” You want the water to be on your eye line so the water is almost an extension of your living space,” he says. “The higher you are in a building, the more expensive the apartment usually, but that also can mean you’re further away. You should always consider your proximity to the water.”

There are great outlooks to the ocean from nine-storey Cobalt, designed by Kann Finch Architects and developed by Jubilee Properties & Life Property Group, with four retail spaces below and a “sky garden” on the top floor.

The first release of apartments has proved so successful in its first six weeks, with about half selling, the second will happen early in 2013.” Dee Why has been identified as one of Sydney’s coastal hot spots,” Lee says.

Water views can change all the time. “On a hot summer’s day they can be very cooling, and dramatic when you have a big storm rolling over,” Rose says.

Originally published by Domain Group[:zh]It’s summertime, and what’s better than relaxing at home in the evening over a cool drink and a stunning waterfront view?  “Not much”, many in the real-estate business say.

“Living in a home with a water view gives you a great sense of freedom and relaxation,” says the director of residential projects at selling agency CBRE, David Lee, who is handling the 85-apartment development Cobalt, which is by the ocean at Dee Why on Sydney’s northern beaches.

“The water gives you such a feeling of tranquillity and, since something with a water view is in a good position and is never going to be built out, it will have good capital growth.”

A water view won’t necessarily be beyond most people’s budgets, either. Depending on where an apartment is, it can cost less than a third of the price of something on the harbour in a more exclusive eastern suburb.

Out west at Rhodes, for instance, one-bedroom apartments with a view directly on to water are priced from about $500,000.

“But a similar apartment on the water in the eastern suburbs in, say, Vaucluse could cost $1 million-plus,” says Yibin Xu, the managing director of Bridge Hill Developments, developer of the SJB-designed Monaco building on the waterside at Rhodes.

“Around 85 per cent of the apartments have water views, and people are always very keen to have such a view.”

Similarly, Bellona, the last building at Breakfast Point, on the peninsula with water views on three sides, is proving popular for developer Rose Group. Some apartments there, joint managing director Bryan Rose believes, have the exact reverse of the view from Vaucluse: looking down the harbour to the city centre.

“And they’re about half the price of that view,” Rose says. “There’s nothing better than being able to sit on your balcony with a cold drink and gaze at the water. People love long water views, and from there you can see the top of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.”

It’s also always good to buy an apartment that’s not too high up in a building with a water view, advises buyer’s agent Dennis Kalofonos, the principal of Sydney Property Finders.” You want the water to be on your eye line so the water is almost an extension of your living space,” he says. “The higher you are in a building, the more expensive the apartment usually, but that also can mean you’re further away. You should always consider your proximity to the water.”

There are great outlooks to the ocean from nine-storey Cobalt, designed by Kann Finch Architects and developed by Jubilee Properties & Life Property Group, with four retail spaces below and a “sky garden” on the top floor.

The first release of apartments has proved so successful in its first six weeks, with about half selling, the second will happen early in 2013.” Dee Why has been identified as one of Sydney’s coastal hot spots,” Lee says.

Water views can change all the time. “On a hot summer’s day they can be very cooling, and dramatic when you have a big storm rolling over,” Rose says.

Originally published by Domain Group[:]