Millennials eyeing property hot spots
MILLENNIAL buyers are redefining the Gold Coast market, as demand for on-trend homes transforms sleepy strips just back from the beachfront into emerging property hot spots.
Priced-out buyers reeling from the rising cost of living are finding better value over the highway, prompting savvy sellers to bring boutique new builds to market.
Latest Proptrack data puts the Gold Coast’s canal front suburbs on a stellar growth trajectory, potentially reaping huge capital gains for buyers who invest now.
While Palm Beach led the gains for Qld’s housing market over the last decade, with median prices up 206 per cent to $1.5m, Burleigh Waters, Broadbeach Waters, and Mermaid Waters were all close behind.
Home values in those suburbs rose 187, 183 and 165 per cent respectively.
Currumbin Waters, Elanora, and Mudgeeraba rounded out local suburbs in Qld’s top ten performers since 2013.
Harcourts Coastal agent Ed Cherry said buyers finding their budgets no longer stretched to popular spots such as Burleigh Heads or Palm Beach were pushing out to surrounding suburbs, Burleigh Waters and Elanora.
“We are seeing many local buyers who are very happy to move a bit further out to have a newer home with all the ontrend features, while still being just a suburb south or west,” Mr Cherry said.
“These beautiful new homes are now being pushed to the boundary suburbs, which in turn elevates the market in those areas,” Mr Cherry said.
Burleigh Waters vendors Dan Furner, of Sublime Projects, and wife, Brittany, have just listed ‘Tranquilo’, a contemporary five-bedroom, twobathroom home unique to its location on Christine Ave.
“We wanted the design to stand out and bring something new to the area,” Mr Furner, 34, said.
The couple bought the 643sq m block for $589,000 in 2016, gutting the original home but retaining a mature Poinciana tree as a focal point for a stunning al fresco area designed for modern entertaining.
Features of the smart wiredhome include polished concrete floors, a luxury kitchen with wine display and butler’s pantry, integrated barbecue kitchen and bar fridges, a freshwater pool with outdoor shower, and a fire pit.
Mr Furner said he was grateful for his skill-set as a builder, which allowed the couple to sidestep some of the hurdles facing young families trying to crack the property market.
“Our plan was always to renovate, and when the market started to boom we decided to pull the trigger on it.
“While we’re that bit younger, we’ll always look to flipping property, but always looking to improve our builds with new technologies and plenty of lifestyle options,” he said.
Proptrack economist
Angus Moore said Millennials aged 26 to 42 faced barriers to home ownership on the back of soaring house prices through the pandemic boom, coupled with a 30 per cent reduction in borrowing power through eight consecutive cash rate rises in 2022.
Saving for a median-priced home now took six to seven years, compared to three years in 1990.
“Homeownership rates among 24 to 35 year olds are lower than they were a few decades ago, which means Millennials will have a different experience from their parents,” Mr Moore said.
“They’ll be buying at a later point in life. They’ll be carrying debt later. So they won’t be mortgage free as early as perhaps their parents were.”