Suburbs joining $1m club

THE pandemic-driven property boom has propelled homeowners in 20 Gold Coast suburbs into the “millionaires” club for the past 12 months.

Exclusive year-on-year median data from Core Logic reveals the breakneck speed at which residential properties have skyrocketed in value.

The data has also brought to light how suburbs, once known for more affordable housing such as Yatala, Wongawallan and Hollywell, have started to move beyond the reach of entry-level home buyers.

Corelogic’s research director Tim Lawless said he had never seen so many suburbs crash through the benchmark sum in a 12-month period, but it was a trend set to continue.

“We are likely to see more suburbs pushing above that million-dollar mark, especially when SEQ is expected to be one of the stronger performers over the coming year,” Mr Lawless said.

“I’m not sure how many times over the past 10 to 20 years such a high number of suburbs have broken a particular barrier, whether it’s the million-dollar mark or, say 20 years, ago when it was $500,0000, but it’s an amazing number.”

Burleigh Waters posted a 43.8 per cent rise in its median in the past 12 months to reach $1,372,094. It was followed by Miami (from $752,531 to $1,079,015), Elanora (up 39.6 per cent to $1,165,913), Yatala (up 38.3 per cent to $1,160,862) and Hollywell (up 36.7 per cent to $1,177,747).

Mr Lawless said most of the sharp gains mirrored the tree and sea-change lifestyle choices brought on by Covid-19 lockdowns.

As median values rose for dwellings in the past 12 months, some suburbs that contained a large number of unit complexes did not surge ahead in price.

“Areas that have very low densities, or don’t have a lot of apartments, don’t have the drag-down element of higherdensity suburbs,” Mr Lawless said.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland CEO Antonia Mercorella said the sheer number of new million-dollar suburbs, not only across the Gold Coast but entire state, was “staggering”.

Queensland-wide, more than 90 suburbs broke through the $1m median barrier, with 40 across Greater Brisbane and 50 split across the Gold and Sunshine coasts.

“It’s a staggering statistic and it’s not surprising a lot of suburbs are located on the Sunshine or Gold Coasts because it reflects the insatiable demand for coastal areas.”