By Guest Blogger, Andrew Bell, OAM
Chairman | The Ray White Surfers Paradise Group
QLD Board Member | Real Estate Institute of Australia
As we all know, the Pandemic of 2020/21 had a profound effect on the real estate market here in Australia. A refocusing on housing being the core to Australian lifestyle and a reconsideration of where people choose to live. As a result, over the past 3.5 years, one of the most profound effects has been the decentralization out of big cities and a move to regional areas.
As happens with many trends, there are those who simply follow the trend, but later realise the trend is not for them. That was the case with decentralization and we see today, that many who moved to regional areas from the big cities, have indeed trended back to the cities. A lot of that as a result of many employers insisting people be back in the office and not work remotely.
However, there are areas where the trend of migration to those areas is firmly entrenched. Regional Queensland is one of the two star performing areas of Australia and the Gold Coast fits within that regional classification. The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statics show that the star performer in migration was regional Queensland, which incorporates the Gold Coast, followed by regional Western Australia. All other states went backwards in terms of migration. For regional Queensland, migration to the state in 2019 was 5,981 - whilst in 2023 it was 15,300.
What used to make the Gold Coast attractive was the fact that its real estate prices were often half of those of the capital cities and of course the weather has always been an attraction. But today of course, property values have indeed risen and the Gold Coast is closing the gap between its real estate prices and major capital cities, but this in fact has been a stimulation of buyer interest. The Gold Coast previously was considered a boom-and-bust market and with prices being as low as they were, it prevented developers having confidence to build stylish, attractive houses and apartments, but that is no longer the case. The Gold Coast now is the home of some of the most spectacular properties in Australia, whether they be houses or apartments and as a result, it has attracted even a larger group of people from other parts of Australia to move.
Beyond question, the weather still remains a major attraction but now lifestyle has become the critical element that drives people to the Coast. It is fast earning the reputation of the lifestyle capital of Australia, not only for all the incredible facilities that exist in the forms of shopping and restaurants, but also for the ever-expanding cultural program from art shows to the opera, ballet and other world class events such as the Supercars 500, International Boat Show, the Pacific Airshow and Seafire.
This current wave of migrants is made up of a lot of people whose friends moved to the Gold Coast between 2020-2023, and having come to visit them regularly and enjoyed those visits, they have made the decision to move also.
The problem is the urban spread is very limited. We have a border on the southern end of the city, a mountain range to the west, an ocean to the east and a narrow corridor to the north. It limits the size of our population and largely the only choice is to go up, but even that has its limitations, so it bodes well for property values in the future, where we will be an incredibly desired market but with a limited amount of property, which also ensures that we never fall into the trap of being a big city with all of the downsides of huge populations.
Finding the right location for your next dream home or investment property can also be made a lot easier with using a Gold Coast buyers agent with boots on the ground. Using a team like Propertybuyer which has the right experience and connections can make the world of difference.
To have one of our friendly Buyers' Advocate's contact you, click here to:
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call us on 1300 655 615 today.
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