Gold Coast residential property market to lift

April 24, 2012 | Research | Residential | Commercial

The current record level of infrastructure spending on the Gold Coast, identified in the latest Colliers International Gold Coast Development Map, is set to boost the region’s residential property market, according to Tony Holland, Colliers International Director of Residential Project Marketing.

The key finding of the Colliers International Gold Coast Development Map, released this week, was that infrastructure spending had risen by close to a huge $4 billion over the past two years to reach more than $13.7 billion, the highest level of infrastructure spending on the Gold Coast Colliers International has recorded since it started compiling the biennial research more than a decade ago.  

Mr Holland said the huge infrastructure spend in the region was a big positive for the Gold Coast’s residential property market, which has suffered over the past three years following global economic turmoil.

“The record level of infrastructure spending on the Gold Coast is a positive signal for the future of the region and great news for the residential property market going forward,” he said.  

“History has shown that in areas where a high infrastructure spend occurs property sales volumes and prices tend to recover and increase shortly afterwards, when the benefit to the area is realised.

“For instance, a road may be built that improves access to and from an area and that then improves the desirability of the area – people are more inclined to want to live there because it’s convenient. It’s a similar case for a hospital, for instance, as workers will move to the area because it’s convenient to live close to their place of employment.  

“This increased demand then pushes up prices for residential property in the area, as well as rents. On the Gold Coast it’s just a matter of when, not if, the push in demand and subsequent boost in prices occurs.”

Mr Holland pointed out that with a lot of infrastructure projects around Griffith University at Southport, this is one area that will experience a boost.  

“There will be a lot of employment generated in that area and that will lead to significant demand for both owner-occupier and rental property in both Southport and surrounding areas such as Parkwood, Arundel and Helensvale,” he said.

Another area that is likely to experience great benefit from infrastructure is the Tweed Coast in northern New South Wales, which is included on the Gold Coast Development Map, said Mr Holland.  

“When the Tugun Bypass was completed it led to a dramatic surge in the residential property market on the Tweed Coast – it reduced travel times for people travelling through that corridor and hence improved its desirability as a place to live,” he said.

“There’s now a $359 million upgrade to the Pacific Highway at Banora Point which is almost complete, and it will further reduce travel times between the Gold Coast and Tweed Coast and in turn, improve demand to live in that area even more.”  

There have already been signs of dramatically increased sales activity in the Tweed Coast area over the past three or four months, and Mr Holland said part of that increased demand was due to the improvements in infrastructure in the area.

“Millions of dollars worth of property has changed hands in recent months in this area and there is continuing strong enquiry, which is likely to generate more strong sales results,” he said.  

“The New Tweed Coast’s Seaside community has had a $6 million sales surge and more than $11 million in property has been sold in Salt Village at Kingscliff, marking its best period of land sales activity for a number of years.”

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