- Mix of affordable house and acreage properties available
- Steady price growth over past year - and more set to come
- Gentrification under way along with new infrastructure
There is no question that Gympie is undergoing a metamorphosis the likes of which we have never seen before.
There are so many new attributes and facilities popping up left, right, and centre that there is not enough space in this blog to write about even a few of them!
It’s clear that gentrification is happening to our region, but in a way that suits our uniqueness and way of life.
One of the locations where this evolution is occurring the most is Southside – a place I called home for a long time.
Southern charms
Over the years, we have witnessed this central suburb morph from an acreage enclave with relatively few residents to a place that is humming with activity and new life.
Of course, it is Southside by name and southside by nature, which has always been one of its best calling cards if you ask me.
That’s because living on the literal southside vastly reduces the commuting time for anyone travelling to the Sunshine Coast or to Brisbane, which is a time-saver never to be sneezed at it my opinion.
Southside has also long been popular with families given it is home to two schools.
Gympie South State School has been educating our children since way back in 1910 and continues to be a primary school of choice for many local families.
Our region’s population growth over recent decades was also one of the reasons why the Cooloola Christian College opened its doors in the early 1990s to prep-age boys and girls as well as secondary school students.
Plus, you can always recognise a suburb that is undergoing a transformation when you see major developments being constructed within its boundaries.
This is certainly the case with Southside with a new Woolworths supermarket as well as Ampol service station being but two pieces of new infrastructure in the area.
Market momentum
Similar to the wider property market in Gympie, Southside is experiencing extremely strong demand from buyers.
In fact, according to the latest data from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, the suburb is one of the strongest performers when it comes to median house price growth of late.
The Southside median house price increased by an impressive 10.2 per cent over the March quarter this year to be $405,000 and over the year ending March it jumped up by 17.6 per cent.
The suburb still has its fair share of acreage properties as well, which are recording strong results as well – the median house price of properties on more than 2400 square metres of land have soared by 27.4 per cent to $465,000 over the year ending March as well.
Vacant land is also in hot demand from buyers, but supply is getting thin on the ground – so to speak.
Most buyers would struggle to purchase a vacant block in Southside for less than $200,000 these days, with signs of continued price pressure to come for some time yet.
While the suburb remains a hotspot for buyers, it is always in demand from tenants as well. The problem at the moment is the lack of rental properties available, which is pushing rents higher month after month.
These investment metrics are also attracting more investors – from near and far – to the Southside market.
So, with all of this going on, it’s little wonder that Southside really is the place to be these days.
