Coast’s property market boasts lots of new growth

NOT only have we encountered one of the biggest and longest storms in many years, both filling our dams and greening up the Gold Coast whilst also giving us a good foundation of water as we approach our summer season, but of a greater interest to you, I am sure, is hearing that we have had a very busy month in the real estate market.

I will be the first to admit it has been a little unexpected. It has been a pretty distracting few weeks with a good deal of negativity in the press. However, that has not stopped extremely strong buying activity across all sectors of the market and, most impressively, in the higher end.

For example: our Sanctuary Cove office has recorded some $30 million in sales in a four-week period, setting a record.

This included the sale of a golfcourse-frontage home at the second-highest price ever paid for such a property. We also saw a beachfront apartment at Main Beach selling for $5.5 million, plus quite a number of other apartments through our central beachside markets between $1 million$5 million, and even sales in our Hinterland region with three sales over the last month between $1.1 million-$2.25 million.

If we thought there was a shortage of available properties for sale as we entered October, it is certainly becoming a major issue as we exit October. It has resulted in us selling a number of properties that have been sitting on the market for quite some time at figures that we thought were overpriced, and one of our agents who had three properties listed for auction has had all three properties sell prior to auction as outstanding offers were made to lock up the properties in the first week or so of marketing.

That activity is also reflected through all the lower and middle price brackets as well. Our local buyers kept us busy as they hyped up their activity post winter, but the most notable contributors to this strong buying activity has been Brisbane-based buyers, and of course those from Sydney and Melbourne. The great majority of people buying out of those markets are either downsizers migrating to the Gold Coast or young couples opting for a better and more affordable lifestyle on the Gold Coast.

Many people have had enough of the big cities, the cost of living and the congested lifestyle.

This certainly bodes well for the upcoming Christmas/New Year period when the Gold Coast always puts out the welcome mat to the largest number of visitors each year. People come in unprecedented numbers to holiday over Christmas and January, which is why it is usually our biggest sales activity month here on the Gold Coast.

We are already taking bookings for people to be part of our huge national iconic marketing program, The Event. This program has been running for some 25 years and many people choose to come to the Gold Coast in January not only for a holiday but to also lock up a property that is featured in The Event program.

A very pleasing strong period of time in the real estate market here on the Gold Coast and one that should be capitalised on by our sellers. ANDREW BELL, RAY WHITE SURFERS PARADISE GROUP CEO THE Gold Coast is missing out on decent tour bands and acts that need a stadium of capacity above 3000 through to 12,000.

We have the smaller venues such as HOTA, Night Quarter and Miami Marketta and they are great at what they do.

But we really don’t have anything for the mid-size crowd of 10,000 to 12,000 and now Owen Park in Southport is suggested.

It is a perfect spot for a multipurpose stadium for sporting events and concerts and festivals.

It’s user-friendly, close to light and heavy rail and there won’t be noise issues.

It would be great to have an event hub like that and it would help ignite the Southport economy as well. BILLY CROSS CROSS PROMOTIONS