Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin - Property
Block of units sale attracts big crowd
Unique beachside investment opportunity draws attention at weekend auction
AN ORIGINAL Burleigh Heads unit block which sold for $4.5m at a hotly contested auction was the Gold Coast’s biggest result under the hammer over the weekend. A crowd of about 80 people lined the street on Sunday to see who would make the top bid for the 1980s-built Surf Apartment building, marketed by Will West of Lacey West.
And though the property was located just 150m from the ocean, sea breezes did little to cool conditions on the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures rising almost as fast as the offers from among 12 registered bidders.
Mr West said the auction was called by Justin Nickerson, of Apollo Auctions, with the mix of investors, developers and families present wasting no time to stake their claims for the rare listing at 51 Hayle St.
“It’s a pretty unique site, because you’ve got four two-bedroom units with four strata titles and that doesn’t come up very often,” Mr West said.
“We had investors, we had developers, we had people looking to put a luxury residential home or units on the site, and some very strong buyers among that mix.”
Two Brisbane buyers faced off in the final stages of the auction after another local underbidder was out, with the successful buyer coveting the property’s position on the picturesque Burleigh headland.
“They might keep one unit vacant and use it themselves on weekends, then down the line look at putting a house there or maybe some units,” Mr West said.
The units occupied a 405sq m corner site with dual street frontage to Hayle and Nathan streets.
The property listing put holding rental income from the four apartments at $156,000 per year, while architectural plans for a DA-approved three-level, fivebedroom house with rooftop terrace were available. PropTrack data shows unit prices in Burleigh Heads have climbed 7 per cent over the past 12 months, to a median of $888,000.