More Good News if You’re Buying on the Gold Coast:
We thought we’d share this article we found in the Gold Coast Bulletin recently about the property market on the Gold Coast. It’s good news if you’re looking to buy a house or apartment as the market continues to recover and prices head upwards, soaring towards pre-GFC levels.
Recovery in the Air as Gold Coast Land Prices Soar to Near Pre-GFC Levels:
LAND values across the Gold Coast are increasing sharply and approaching pre-global financial crisis levels, according to new reports.
Ray White Commercial’s latest SEQ Residential Land Report found the median vacant land price for the Coast had soared for the first half of this year, approaching the historic peak of $250,000, which was reached in 2008.
The report reads: “The combination of limited supply and market fundamentals such as low interest rates has resulted in this rapid increase … and it is expected that if demand remains steady that continued growth will be achievable.”
The finding is backed up by McGrath Estate Agents prestige specialists, John Natoli and James Ledgerwood, who have released their latest report focusing on the central Gold Coast.
The pair analysed sales for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 financial years and found a sample of recent sales in Paradise Waters showed a massive increase in the price of land.
A vacant riverfront block on Commodore Drive sold for $1992-sq m in April, 2013 and this year comparable blocks on the same street sold for 37-42 per cent more.
The pair put the trend down to a low level of stock and increasing buyer confidence.
The high prices for waterfront land follow a record house sale at 60 Admiralty Drive, which sold for $8.7 million in March.
Mr Ledgerwood said comparing the square metre rate for land was a more accurate gauge of the prestige market than analysing house sales.
“For example, 60 Admiralty sold for a record price but it was a bigger home on a larger block than most in the area,” Mr Ledgerwood said.
“This way we’re comparing like with like.”
Other findings from the McGrath report include a lower sales volume for prestige sales for the past financial year ($109 million compared to $125 million in 2012-13).
It also found no properties changed hands on the Isle of Capri for more than $2.5 million in the past financial year, whereas there were 10 above $2 million in the previous year.
Mr Ledgerwood said there was a dearth of properties priced above $2 million on the Isle of Capri as owners were choosing to hold on.