Autumn forecast: Buyers are falling for Currumbin
SUMMER may be over but buyers are still heading for the beaches, with Currumbin leading demand this autumn selling season.
But while the southern market remains red hot, the devastating floods have pressed pause on last year’s frenzied conditions as more properties for sale begin to trickle online.
Currumbin notched up the state’s highest buyer demand in February, with an average of 151 highly engaged buyers per listing, recent REA Group data shows.
Brisbane suburbs claimed the remaining top 10 spots, with the exception of Aroona on the Sunshine Coast which also made the list.
REA Group’s Proptrack economic research director Cameron Kusher said an uptick in supply, along with the prospect of an interest rate rise, could see the market shift in buyers’ favour.
“Sellers are going to find there is now more competition, and the buyers who are out there are going to be a bit more discerning and probably don’t have the capacity or the preparedness to bid up prices as much as they were last year,” Mr Kusher said.
He expected tightly held Currumbin to continue to perform strongly but tipped Brisbane suburbs and more affordable coastal areas would rise as the season progressed.
Harcourts Coastal agent Ed Cherry said Currumbin’s unspoilt charm drove its appeal for buyers, particularly those downsizing from interstate in search of a lowkey lifestyle.
“The recent flood events have been devastating for a lot of families in Brisbane and now in Sydney, and obviously that trauma has held
people back from rushing to open homes, and that frenzied buyer activity has eased up,” Mr Cherry said.
“It actually might be a time for locals to get their nose in front. I think while the inquiry level has softened over the past week, the market price hasn’t adjusted and is still as high as what we’ve seen.”
Buyers agent Matt Srama, of the Srama Group, said Melbourne and Sydney buyers were either relocating permanently to Currumbin, or securing a holiday unit close to the beach.
“I think price growth will continue. Migration has never been stronger for the
South East Queensland corridor and especially for the southern end of the Gold Coast, and there is also a real shortage of land in the area,” Mr Srama said.
Currumbin homeowners
Adam and Mia Codner moved to the area with their children, Ivy, 7, and Noah, 3, in November 2020.
“Before the arrival of our second child, we realised Sydney just wasn’t going to offer what we needed long term,” Ms Codner said.
“We cast a much wider net than ever anticipated and found ourselves searching around the seaside suburbs of South East Queensland; a place we would go on holidays to visit Adam’s family.
“Although initially we were only looking at an investment, Currumbin was a place we could envision raising our kids,” she said.
She said “everything just fell into place” once they arrived, from finding new friends to Mr Codner establishing his local business, North Building Solutions.
Ms Codner said they were “very thankful” to have purchased in 2018 before the pandemic boom hit.
House prices in Currumbin soared by 33.7 per cent over the 12 months to December 2021, and reached a median of $1.5 million in February.
Prices were up 36.8 per cent and 34.9 per cent respectively in surrounding Currumbin Valley and Currumbin Waters, REA Group data shows.