Coastal cities looking good in Queensland

Mosaic Property
14/07/17

Adapted from article – Home values are rising higher in these regions than in Brisbane 

WHEN it comes to house and unit values, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast have generally fallen short of Australia’s capital cities. However, the tables have turned, with regional cities now holding their own in a big way!

Recent data published by Core Logic shows that Queensland’s main coastal cities are seeing huge growth in house and unit prices when compared to Australia’s capital cities.

With an oversupply in some capital cities and ever increasing development on both coasts, now is a great time for anyone looking to purchase a property for themselves or as an investment.

The Gold Coast demonstrated strong median house prices over the 12 months to May 2017, growing 7.5 per cent to $613,227, while median unit prices lifted 6.2 per cent to $397,330. This was the best result of all major Queensland regional markets, with properties across all price points in high demand.

This is not unexpected as the Gold Coast has long been subject to increasing demand and a lagging supply response, driving prices up. Public spending has been boosted by infrastructure and other related works in preparation for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, as well as the expansion of Pacific Fair, the Gold Coast Light Rail project and the Jupiter Casino development. These projects have led to job creation and greater underlying demand for dwellings.

On the Sunshine Coast, the median price for a house grew 6.2 per cent to $552, 129 with units at $391,262 after a 4.4 per cent rise.

The Sunshine Coast is also experiencing an undersupply of housing stock due to a prolonged period of low construction in the early years of this decade. But with massive amounts of investment such as the Maroochydore CBD redevelopment, the University Hospital and the expansion of the Sunshine Coast airport currently completed or underway, this recent growth looks set to continue.

Cameron Kusher, an analyst from CoreLogic found that although regional housing markets “have long been laggards” compared to the capitals, many have seen values rise in the past year.

“After a long period of soft housing market conditions following the financial crisis, housing demand is starting to pick up across many of the larger regional areas.”

He said Queensland’s regions saw the southeast corner dominate while elsewhere growth was extremely mild or had fallen.

“It seems as if a lot of demand across these regions is coming from the accelerating internal migration to Queensland and buyers from Sydney and Melbourne that have substantial equity in their homes and are looking for lifestyle properties.”

To find out more about investing on the coast visit our Sunshine Coast investment page.