Gold Coast housing values show significant improvement with growth outshining Brisbane
THE Gold Coast is outshining Brisbane with the latest quarter figures showing house values improving in almost every suburb across the region.
Suburbs spread across the Gold Coast saw significant improvements over the year to September, with industry figures attributing it to growing optimism as major developments get under way.
Of suburbs that saw median prices drop over the year, Brisbane had five times as many (15) as the Gold Coast.
The latest REIQ quarterly report also showed that every Gold Coast suburb saw a rise except Currumbin Valley (-0.4 per cent to $751,759), Varsity Lakes (-0.5 per cent to $464,867) and Coomera (-0.7 per cent to $521,037).
The best performers were Mermaid Beach (up 14.9 per cent to $949,919), Clear Island Waters (up 11.9 per cent to $915,757) and Merrimac (up 11.8 per cent to $428,625).
The southern region had the strongest markets for both houses which were up 8 per cent and units, up 5.8 per cent.
Real Estate Industry Queensland Gold Coast zone chair John Newlands, who is principal of Professionals Surfers Paradise, said the September quarter saw even greater confidence in the marketplace.
“We’re seeing greater sales volumes,” he said.
“A lot of that has been underpinned by development and activity on the Gold Coast which has been good for jobs growth, while tourism is starting to be quite steady as well.”
Houses did better than units in the last quarter, he said, but in the past month there had been quite a bit of activity from investors in the apartment/unit market.
“A percentage are offshore investors but the biggest chunk are more your traditional Gold Coast investors who come out of Sydney and Melbourne. The returns are better here because in Sydney the prices have gone up but rents haven’t by the same proportion so their yields are much lower.
“Here there’s good affordability and rental yields have been good.”
Billions were being spent on infrastructure, lifting the entire region, he said, with major events including the Commonwealth Games in 2018.
“Now through to three or four years we see some solid activity and a renewed Coast market outlook. We’re already starting to see a facelift.”
In terms of value, there were still a few pockets where there was greater affordability, including Helensvale.
Mr Newlands said in highrises, there were still some good opportunities but they were being quickly picked off by investors.
“The timing is right for them,” he said.
“A lot of investors have been waiting for this.”
