GC house prices to outstrip capital cities by 2030
THE price of a typical Gold Coast house could hit a staggering $2.7m, outstripping every capital city in the nation by the end of the decade.
The shock forecast by PRD found local house prices would more than double by 2030, surpassing Australia’s current most expensive city of Sydney by more than $200,000, and Melbourne by $622,000.
PRD chief economist Diaswati Mardiasmo said the startling figures were based on market growth from 2012 to 2022, during which time house prices on the Coast held average annual return of just under 10 per cent.
Unit prices were predicted to hit $978,000 by 2030, based on average annual return of 5.8 per cent.
Dr Mardiasmo said the Gold Coast’s historic affordability and attractive lifestyle had underpinned continued growth, while strong migration through the pandemic propelled the city further in front.
“If you look back over the last ten years, the Sydney market has fluctuated more, and so when you average that out it does impact the forecast, whereas the Gold Coast had that massive surge in 2020 and 2021,” she said.
“These results really show how resilient the Gold Coast market is, however affordability and the rising cost of living is definitely a concern, and it is very possible that we will see a different prediction from next year depending on what happens with the cash rate, whether we go into a recession, and how all of that translates into the market.”
Real Estate Institute of Queensland Gold Coast zone chair Andrew Henderson said while such strong price growth was positive for existing homeowners, the city’s growth hinged on its affordability.
“The Gold Coast has always been seen as a destination for people to move from Sydney and Melbourne because not only is the lifestyle highly desirable, but we are a young city that supports families to be able to live and work here,” he said.
“That migration flow has been a huge driver of demand for property in the city, but if house prices become more expensive than in Sydney then that is going to act as a deterrent for people who were considering moving here.”
Real estate agent Josh Willatt, of Mcgrath, said demand continued to outpace supply of homes for sale, while a “clear two-speed market” had emerged where premium properties were attracting the greatest interest.
“The Gold Coast is not what it was ten years ago. There’s so much potential and opportunity – we’re not seeing young people having to move to Sydney for work anymore because it’s all here,” Mr Willatt said.
“For good quality real estate there’s going to be solid continuous growth for the Gold Coast, 100 per cent.”
Proptrack data shows
Gold Coast house prices have surged 96.3 per cent over the past eight years, but that was not expected to be repeated over the coming decade, according to the group’s head of economic research Cameron Kusher.
“Overall, we expect growth to be slower over the next eight years, particularly so for houses in Brisbane and the Gold Coast and units on the Gold Coast.”