INVESTORS SURF IN ON COAST
Surfers top choice for buyers
PROPERTY investors will make a cautious comeback in 2021 as COVID-normal conditions bring renewed confidence, with increased interest in coastal locations and Surfers Paradise maintaining its mantle as top choice for buyers looking to profit from the market.
While owner-occupiers dominated through 2020, Gold Coast suburbs are proving popular with investors this year, latest data on inquiries from REA shows.
Nationally, Surfers Paradise kept its No.1 ranking for investors over the past 12 months, with inquiries on realestate.com.au up 28 per cent, while Coolangatta posted the largest year-on-year growth among Coast suburbs, up 188 per cent.
Mermaid Beach and Robina also ranked highly, up 170 per cent and 162 per cent respectively.
Local property analyst Colleen Coyne tipped a comeback on the back of interest rates remaining at historic lows until at least 2024, with investor loans increasing nationally by 13 per cent in December to their highest point since mid-2018.
“Investors represented only 25 per cent of all residential loans in December 2020, but the low vacancy rates of less than 1 per cent on the Gold Coast and signs of rising rents for houses in areas like Coomera and Pimpama should encourage them into this market,” Ms Coyne said.
She predicted rising demand for affordable house and land packages or townhouses and apartment developments in the northern growth areas.
New research from Property Talk Australia with the Real Estate Buyers Agents Association (REBAA) found investors would be a dominant force in 2021, with 43 per cent of homeowners surveyed looking to purchase a subsequent property.
“Property investors are seeing the potential of manufacturing capital growth in the current market with almost a
quarter of respondents looking for a property with renovation potential,” said REBAA president Cate Bakos.
Properties with subdivision potential, granny flats or separate tenancies were most attractive, with 84 per cent of investors planning a passive buy-and-hold investment strategy, and the remaining 16 per cent looking to build, renovate or develop.
Ray White Surfers Paradise Group CEO Andrew Bell said investors were desperately needed to ease the squeeze on the Coast’s rental market, with vacancies dipping to less than 1 per cent in 2020 and below 0.3 per cent in some areas.
“There are a reasonable number of investors who are out in the marketplace, but that number is vastly inadequate for what is needed and I’m a little surprised that investors haven’t picked up on what is happening in the market,” Mr Bell said.
While investors may be put off by heated competition from owner-occupiers, Mr Bell said current market conditions allowed for positive gearing to draw an immediate income from their property.
“Now should be the most compelling time of all for investors to buy,” he said.
Sydney-based property investor Natalie Sutton secured a Palm Beach townhouse, which was tenanted almost immediately.
“I love the Gold Coast lifestyle and I wanted a property that was an investment but hopefully I could move there in a couple of years’ time,” Ms Sutton said.
“I saw the Gold Coast market was going nuts and I didn’t want to miss out.”