11 December 2006
Queensland developers continue to be attracted to Japan's ski fields. Citimark and Babcock & Brown have embarked on a $160 million mixed-use development in Niseko on the northern island of Hokkaido.
Citimark development director Peter Morrow said Japan was attractive to developers because of its strong growth.
"Japan is coming out of a 15-year recession and is embracing investment by foreigners. The currency is stable and there's the strong attraction of world-class skiing in Niseko and limited land supply, which is obviously pointing to strong growth," Mr Morrow said.
Citimark is proposing a 150-apartment boutique hotel, day spa and hot spring bath including cafes, bars and restaurants on a 10,000 square metre site, one of four development plots it has acquired.
Two-bedroom apartments will be priced at less than $500,000. Mr Morrow was unable to forecast the rentals given the disparity between the summer and winter seasons.
He said he believed it was possible to borrow yen for a Japanese property and the apartments would be marketed primarily to Australian buyers. "We believe there will be some Japanese buyers [but] we expect they will be [in the] minority," he said.
If approval was granted next year he expected construction to start late next year, subject to sufficient pre-sales.
Citimark has developed several properties in partnership with Babcock & Brown.
Queensland property and tourism identities Jim Goldburg and John Wilson announced in September they would enter the luxury ski accommodation market in Japan and planned to develop six chalets.
They chose Hirafu Village at the Grand Niseko Ski Resort for their venture, and said they would develop more if it succeeded.
The $6.6 million project is the first offshore development for Mr Goldburg, a Flight Centre co-founder, and Mr Wilson, managing director of developer APH, which has up to $1 billion worth of projects in Queensland and NSW.
Citimark Properties media clippings
Publication: The Australian Financial Review. Page 50. By Lisa Allen |
