Apartment sales thrive amid virus downturn

ONE of the Gold Coast’s most luxurious developments has defied the financial downturn, settling on more than $36 million worth of units in the past month.

Work on the first stage of Sunland Group’s high-end boutique Magnoli complex at Palm Beach has been completed, with the inaugural residents now moving into the first of its twin 12-storey towers.

The veteran developer has made 51 settlements since the beginning of May for a total of $36 million, despite the COVID-19 economic downturn.

Sunland managing director Sahba Abedian said the project had avoided the coronavirus hit that many other developers had suffered.

“The majority of purchasers within Magnoli Apartments are local downsizers who are eager to move into their new homes, swapping their family homes for large, luxury apartments with an abundance of built-in lifestyle amenity,” he said.

“During recent uncertainty as a result of COVID-19, construction was able to remain on schedule with Condev Constructions implementing appropriate measures to ensure that there was little to no impact on the delivery time frame and settlement of the project.”

Nearly 80 per cent of the first tower has already been sold, with the remaining apartments starting from $610,000.

The second tower, still under construction, will be released to the market this month on the back of the first building’s strong sales and is expected to be completed by Christmas.

The development, which was approved by the council in late 2017, was built on the former site of the Palm Beach caravan park.

It was the target of strong opposition at the time from locals who were critical of its height and density.

Magnoli is one of several new developments targeted towards the lucrative downsizer market.