Property prices go through the roof
THE number of properties on the Gold Coast selling for seven-figure sums jumped 70 per cent during Covid.
Analysis of settled property sales in the 12 months to April shows that 5660 properties sold for $1m or more, compared to 3378 over the same period the previous year.
Of the more recent sales, 4336 changed hands for between $1m-2m, 863 between $2m-3m, 268 between $3m-4m and 193 sold for $4m or more.
Surfers Paradise recorded the highest number of sales between $1m and $2m, now viewed as the entry-level end of the market, with 285 properties changing hands.
It was followed by Palm Beach (209), Hope Island (197), Robina (184) and Mermaid Waters (177).
Mel and Will Nye, who secured a home in Palm Beach during the height of the buying frenzy last year, say they are glad they bought when they did as prices have risen even further in the past six months.
Mrs Nye said the home in Third Ave, which they bought for $1.79m, would have cost them a lot more today.
“We knew where we wanted to buy and were able to find the perfect location. Now we are in the process of gutting the house and putting it through a renovation to make it our own.
“It’s great to see increasing values in our suburb and plenty of others. There seems to be a lot of demand right across the Gold Coast.
“We think we bought in at a good price and at the right time.”
Overall, Surfers Paradise had the highest number of sales in almost every $1m price bracket up to $10m. The exceptions were the $2m-3m category – in which Hope Island led the pack with 84 – and the $7m-8m bracket, in which it was superseded by Mermaid Beach and Hope Island, which registered three and two sales respectively.
Overall, 23 sales were made for $10m or more.
Jason Adcock, of Adcock Prestige, said the data highlighted how prices were rising.
“In the past, the property market has been a bit of a rollercoaster, plenty of peaks and troughs, but in the past two years prices have stabilised,” Mr Adcock said.
“Many of the suburbs chalking up significant multimillion-dollar sales are not beachfront, but they are homes that offer buyers, particularly those from Sydney and Melbourne, more bang for their buck.”
With the Gold Coast population tipped to increase from 577,000 residents to more than one million people by 2041, demand for housing will be even stronger, according to Adcock Prestige’s Dan and Essie Moloney, who cover the southern end of the Gold Coast.
“Property owners have fared very well in the past 12 months,” Mrs Moloney said.
“There is a big imbalance between demand and supply and that’s predicted to continue for the next three years, which will lead to further property price growth.”
Mr Moloney said the Coast was about to hit a prime selling period, with thousands of travellers visiting the region over Easter expected to return home with more than just sand between their toes.
Despite the phenomenal growth, there are still some affordable pockets to invest in, according to property investment expert James Fitzgerald of Custodian.
“The lower end of the market – properties less than $1.5m today – has experienced solid growth, but not as meteoric as the high end of the market and that’s where I see the value today for home buyers and investors alike,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“Coomera and Pimpama, Nerang, Robina and Merrimac are my picks.
“These areas are experiencing a lot of infrastructure investment, which means plenty of jobs and amenity.”