Even though house and unit prices softened in Brisbane in the December quarter (hitting $548,918 and $385,955 respectively) according to the Domain Group’s latest House Price Report, prices are moving in the opposite direction in Queensland’s southeast coastal markets.
World-class beaches, a sophisticated and laidback lifestyle, and the lure of affordability are drawing many interstate migrants—the majority from New South Wales—to the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
While home values have risen just 2.4% in Brisbane over the past 12 months, they’ve surged nearly 7% on the Gold Coast and by more than 7% on the Sunshine Coast, according to the latest data from CoreLogic.
According to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland’s (REIQ) latest Queensland Market Monitor, the median house price in the Sunshine Coast statistical division jumped from $557,500 in June to $570,000 in September. The Gold Coast also saw its median house price rise to a new record of $606,000.
Half of the top 10 property sales in the Sunshine State in 2017 were made on the Gold Coast, totalling $48.9m.
Some agents think the southeast coastal markets will continue to strengthen this year, as more homeowners from Sydney and Melbourne cash out of their million-dollar properties in favour of the more laidback lifestyle in the north
Angie Zigomanis, senior manager for residential property at BIS Oxford Economics, said Sydneysiders are flocking to Queensland to capitalise on the state’s comparatively low prices.
“We’re starting to see increased interstate migration flows out of NSW – that’s being reflected in first-time buyer numbers in Queensland,” he said.
Some property markets further inland are also benefitting from rising interstate migration. The Wellington, located at 45 Wellington Road in East Brisbane, completed construction in October 2017. Settlements occurred during the following month and saw 100% of its letting pool filled by mid-January.
According to Capital Care Property Management, which manages The Wellington, all 51 apartments in the letting pool were recently leased, with a further release of properties due with settlement in the coming months.
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