GOLD COAST OFF THE PLAN SALES ARE THE BEST IN YEARS
Brand new property is what attracts the big volumes of sales at the Gold Coast with more than $53 million in apartments sold across three projects over the Christmas holidays.
The $150 million Beach Apartments in Broadbeach, developed by Anthony Moreton Group and Pryde Group, is one of a number of projects that saw strong holiday sales. supplied Brand new property is what attracts the big volumes of sales at the Gold Coast with more than $53 million in apartments sold across three projects over the Christmas holidays.
Macau casino king Stanley Ho’s planned $120 million Eleve Residences at Palm Meadows golf resort saw on average one contracted sale per day since its public launch on December 19, selling a total of $19.6 million worth of apartments.
The planned $107 million beachfront Northcliffe Residences at Surfers Paradise, being developed by Chinese group Mii Property, registered $16 million in contracted sales after its launch to the market on Boxing Day.
And the $150 million Beach Apartments at Broadbeach, currently being developed by Anthony Moreton Group and Pryde Group, saw 26 apartments contracted for sale over the holiday period worth about $17.5 million.
“The sale of off-the-plan projects on the Gold Coast over the Christmas holiday period is the best it has been in years,” said Steven Chen, head of McGrath project marketing.
“The pricing in comparison to Sydney represents exceptional value, and it seems people are realising this. We have found the majority of buyers are finding real value in premium apartments on here and are looking for long term capital growth with high confidence from premium developers and builders,” he said.
Overall, Gold Coast median apartment prices as of June this year, including new and existing apartments, was $360,000. In Sydney it is $650,000 and in Melbourne it is $470,000.
The strong early sales are encouraging other developers to bring forward projects. Citimark Properties’ $175 million luxuryMarkwell Residences tower at Surfers Paradise is also achieving strong sales. “Markwell has been selling well since launching last quarter,” said Angus Johnson, joint managing director of Citimark Properties.
“Strong sales in Markwell means we are able to bring forward the launch of our Chevron Island project to the first quarter of this year. There is very good forward momentum in the market.”Other Gold Coast hot spots include Sanctuary Cove where $20 million in sales have been struck in the last month including some property by listed developer Sunland.
The Gold Coast apartment market has still not recovered to its boom time prices of 2007, but investors from offshore have kickstarted some strong price growth in the city with the purchase of high rise apartments and key beachfront development sitesperfect for high rise apartments.
The bellwether for the city’s apartment pricing will be Wanda’s $900 million Jewel project which the latest sales data suggest could match the boom time sales rate on a per square metre basis.
The most recent sales analysis from Urbis showed that apartment sales in the September quarter increased by 253 compared to the corresponding quarter in 2014 – an increase of more than 150 per cent.
Australian Financial Review 25/1/16
