- Apartment sales increased from 200 to 470.
- Transactions are centred around the traditional apartment precincts.
- Supply remains a major challenge.
Gold Coast apartment sales have more than doubled in recent times, and supply concerns continue to mount.
Urbis director, Paul Riga, revealed that apartment sales on the Gold Coast increased to 470, up from the previous quarter’s 200.
Gold Coast apartment transactions were largely centred around the traditional apartment precincts of Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, and Main Beach, according to Riga; the remainder of sales along the Gold Coast were limited due to a lack of new projects.
This comprised 77% in the aforementioned three areas, and two sales were made in Southport.
At the end of September, Urbis figures found that 1,770 apartments remained available for sale, with 82% of which located in the three central areas.
Limited supply was available across the precincts of North Shore, Coastal Fringe, and Southern Beaches, with merely 264 apartments remaining on the market across the three areas.
A notable trend that emerged was the transition from build-to-rent projects to build-to-sell. This was noted as, “signifying developers’ desire to capture sales in a constrained supply environment.”
“What the data tells us quite simply is that the demand for apartments has remained strong, with new developments harnessing the purchasers,” said Riga.
“This is great for the property market, underpins property prices but creates further problems with supply – meaning if new projects don’t get underway the supply will continue to diminish.”
Paul Riga, Urbis
Urbis figures found that three projects commenced as BTR have switched to build to sell, while one project switched from BTS to BTR.
Highland CEO, David Highland, said the data underpinned the resilience of the market.
“What this shows us is that demand for the Gold Coast has not diminished since the boom times brought about after the Covid pandemic,” he said.
“We are still seeing very strong interest from Sydneysiders keen to either move to the Gold Coast or at least take a stake in the Gold Coast’s future by purchasing an apartment here.
“The problem is that unless construction costs stabilise there may not be the stock required to meet demand, so buyers getting into the market now are in an enviable position where there may be considerable upside in the value of their apartments.”
David Highland, Highland
Derisking purchases
Highland said there is a flight to quality, where people want certainty in an uncertain environment, particularly as price movements remain unpredictable.
“Projects under construction or with a builder locked in are certainly at a distinct advantage in the eyes of buyers,” he said.
The current market dynamics are also encouraging people to get into the market sooner rather than later, said Highland, “and perhaps this is why there has been an uptick in sales in the third quarter.”
“We expect this will continue as we head into the peak selling periods for apartments over Christmas and New Year where hundreds of thousands of people will be holidaying on the Gold Coast and inspecting property.”
