After a tumultuous three years where property values have gone backward, the Gold Coast property market appears to be on the mend, according to PRDnationwide research.
PRDnationwide research director Aaron Maskrey said the market appears to have found its feet again, waving off falls in median prices for the first time since 2010.
"The Gold Coast house market appears to have reached its bottom of the cycle with a phase of sustained activity at around 400 sales per six-month period. The median house price has declined since early 2010, but has recently levelled off over the December 2012 six months,” Maskrey said.
Part of the return to form was due to an uptick in confidence about the property market, Maskrey added.
“Early indications show buyer enquiry levels in 2013 to be higher with optimism spreading throughout the market."
Maskrey further commented that PRD research shows that the Gold Coast has welcomed an increase in young families. The increase has seen a 1.2% upturn in the portion of youths under the age of 14, and a 1.5% increase in the number of adults aged 25 to 44.
Buying activity has also been supported by an affordable market. “As at the December 2012 six-month period, the median unit price was $362,250, placing Gold Coast units at the affordable price levels of 2005," Maskrey said.
Key findings from a PRD study of over 17 coastal towns around Australia demonstrated that unit sales on the Gold Coast area have amounted to an average 80.5% of total residential sales in major coastal areas over the past decade.
The research was taken across most of Australia's states and included Byron Bay, Coffs Harbour, The Entrance and Yamba in NSW; Agnes Water, Gold Coast, Hervey Bay, Port Douglas, Sunshine Coast, Whitsundays and Yeppoon in QLD; the Fleurieu Peninsula in SA; Bells Beach, Lakes Entrance and 90 Mile Beach in Victoria; and Broome and Dunsborough in WA.
