Gold Coast is now Australia's second most expensive property market

Australia’s holiday mecca - the Gold Coast - now boasts the second most expensive house prices in Australia, according to new data from Ray White real estate.

Ray White’s Chief Economist, Nerida Conisbee, says the median house price on the Gold Coast is now $1.17 million according to data from Neoval - the giant real estate group’s in-house data analytics firm.

While that’s a fair way behind the current median house price in Australia’s most expensive property market - Sydney - which Neoval calculates at $1.7 million, Ms Conisbee says if growth continues at its current rate, the Gold Coast will be at the Sydney median by 2027.

Separate data from CoreLogic underlines the Gold Coast-Tweed Heads area’s strong growth, calculating the median for all dwellings (houses and units) in the region has shot up by 12.7% in just a year to just over $1 million.

The details

Ray White says in the last 12 months, house prices on the Gold Coast have grown 9% compared to the national average of 8.5%, offering “a better capital return on investment than even Sydney, often named as one of the top cities in the world.”

A recent Ray White market report shows homes in Surfers Paradise North have seen price growth of $248,486 on average in the last 12 months, while prices grew $223,201 at Mermaid Beach. 

Other regions enjoying healthy gains include Clear Island Waters ($194,718), Busselton Surrounds ($190,659), Surfers Paradise South ($189,588) and Runaway Bay ($175,625). 

The report also identified Bundall, Biggera Waters, Paradise Point and Buddina as growth areas.

Separate data from CoreLogic shows that while dwelling sales on the Gold Coast have risen slightly over the past year, they are still 8.3% down on the 5-year average.

The scarcity of supply at a time of high demand is no doubt helping to push prices higher.

Premium Properties

“While the Gold Coast may once have been seen as the home of fake tans and meter maids, now it’s all about luxury lifestyle including five-star restaurants and, at the top end, premium properties,” Ray White declares.

Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee says the Gold Coast could now be called “the Miami of Australia.” 

“There are far more great dining and lifestyle options available than ever before.” 

The Ray White market report shows there were 56 sales over $5 million last year in the Gold Coast region.

Some of the country’s richest people, including property developers Bob Ell and Harry Triguboff, have properties on the Gold Coast, while international celebrities such as actors Colin Firth, Penelope Cruz and Hugh Jackman have been guests in the Marina Mirage precinct. 

“The Gold Coast is a very nice place to live, and the population growth shows that,” Conisbee says. 

The market report says population movement from cities such as Sydney and Melbourne to regional Queensland (which includes the Gold Coast) remains elevated, with 15,300 people in total moving to the Sunshine State. 

“There is a lot more investment in housing from people coming from Melbourne and Sydney, either downsizing or keeping a city apartment and buying a larger home on the Gold Coast,” Ms Conisbee says.

Apartments to the fore as affordability bites

Ray White Surfers Paradise Group Chairman Andrew Bell says the current property boom is making it tough for buyers who aren’t cashed-up, with soaring prices and the current high interest rate environment taking a toll.

“There are still opportunities to buy into the market at the more affordable end, but buyers need to change their thinking,” he advises.

“With prices moving up and a continued shortage of available homes, moving further afield, or buying an apartment rather than a house, are both good options.”

Tough for renters

CoreLogic’s latest Regional Market Update branded the Gold Coast-Tweed Heads area as the least affordable market for renters outside Australia’s big capital cities, calculating the median rent at $832 per week.

The area has seen strong rental growth of 7.1% over the last year and 53.1% over the past 5, no doubt due to the extremely low vacancy rate the region has experienced over the last three and a half years.

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However, median gross rental yields have eased from 4.5% to 4.2%, largely because of the huge jump in property values.

No longer a boom-and-bust town

One of the historical problems with the Gold Coast has been the boom/bust nature of the city’s real estate market.

“It did well in strong economic times, then tended to see sharp falls,” Ray White Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee says.

“That doesn’t seem to be happening anymore.”

Ray White Surfers Paradise Group Chairman Andrew Bell puts the change down to a coming-of-age.

“The Gold Coast might once have been a place you would only buy a holiday home, but now we are seeing a belief in the region like never before,” he says.

“The city is fully mature in terms of shopping, schools and employment, and it has become a world-class city to live in.”

“While we used to have a number of prominent markets pre-pandemic, now wealth has spread everywhere from Coolangatta to Calypso Bay,” Mr Bell says.