12 April 2013 – Dennis Morgan has joined Colliers International as director valuation, specialising in the residential development sector and leading the healthcare and retirement living team
He was previously with rival CBRE for 11 years and has also worked with Egan National Valuers and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Mr Morgan is a regular presenter at UDIA educational courses.
He told The Fifth Estate that in his view sustainability in the residential market is still slow going, compared with the commercial sector where he could see greater take up.
“I guess the buyers want the airconditioning in the bedroom as well as the living room,” he said. “To some extent they’re less concerned to the cost of that. You can’t sell them an apartment un-airconditioned. But flow through ventilation is important.”
On the other hand there is the trend towards more balconies, often used as a dining option, with bifold doors, and that can mitigate against use of airconditioning.
Mr Morgan can see far more attention paid to the urban planning side of sustainability with councils concerned to promote densities close to transport corridors rather than what “is built on the site.”
On the market itself, Morgan says demand for inner city apartments is strong.
“Inner city units have been the strongest part of our market for some time. Demand is fairly strong. Self managed super funds are still buying off the plan.”
There’s no real change in mood, he says, “it’s the old adage: location, well located good property will always sell.”