Coast prices surge

Two Coast suburbs have made the top 10 growth areas — Lower Beechmont and Hollywell

TWO Gold Coast suburbs have recorded surprising property price hikes over the past five years.

Lower Beechmont’s median house value jumped 10.7 per cent to $520,000 in the five years to November this year while Hollywell’s increased 8.1 per cent to $776,000.

The growth has earned them spots in the Coast’s top 10 performing suburbs over the past five years with Lower Beechmont ranking third and Hollywell ninth.

REA Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee said the two suburbs were attracting buyers because of their “unique” features, which was bumping values up.

“Hollywell is very unique from a national perspective,” Mrs Conisbee said.

“Many homes are on the water and it is still possible to buy a property for well under $1 million.

“Even waterfront properties can be purchased for not much more than this.

“As a result, this mix of relative affordability, uniqueness and lifestyle is making it very attractive to people.”

While Lower Beechmont was well away from the water, Mrs Conisbee said its affordable prices made the suburb attractive.

“Big homes on big blocks close to employment priced at under $500k are rare to find in most capital cities but in Lower Beechmont, you can find exactly that,” she said.

Mermaid Beach and Broadbeach Waters topped the list with 11.6 per cent and 10.8 per cent growth respectively while Burleigh Heads, Palm Beach, Miami, Biggera Waters, Burleigh Waters and Bundall also made the top 10. Mrs Conisbee said the results were a mixed bag this year, likely because of interstate migration.

“We can certainly see that interstate searches in particular have increased significantly,” she said.

“We have also seen very high rental demand over the past couple of years, which suggests that people are moving to the Gold Coast for jobs.”

5 Azalea Ave, Hollywell is listed through Harcourts Coastal with an asking price of more than $800,000.