Gold Coast’s Median House Price Cracks $1 Million

Despite being the sixth largest city in Australia, it is often difficult to find statistics that clearly identify Gold Coast property trends due to the fact that the Gold Coast is not considered a Capital City.

With this in mind, it was pleasing yesterday to see a report released by the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper discussing the Gold Coast and also the fact that our region now carries a median house price of over $1,000,000.

The $1 million milestone is a significant number and one that leads all other major areas here in the Sunshine state.

Whilst the Sunshine Coast was the first city or region in Queensland to reach a median price point of $1,000,000, prices there have now retreated back below the $1 million mark.

Over the 2023 Calendar year, prices on the Gold Coast officially rose 8.4% to $1,030,000 for houses; however it was units that recorded the strongest gains.

With 2023 initially predicted to be a year in which property prices were set to retreat, units on the Gold Coast finished the year 10.2% higher than at the same time in 2022 to reach a median price point of $705,000.

The article released yesterday in the Sydney Morning Herald with the heading "A Big Milestone, Gold Coast's median house price cracks $1 million" is our lead story this week. Please see below.

‘A big milestone’: Gold Coast’s median house price cracks $1 million

House prices on the Gold Coast have cracked the $1 million mark, making it the second Queensland city ever to reach a seven-figure median sale price.

The coastal hub hit a record median house price of $1.03 million in the December quarter, up 4.6 per cent over the three-month period and 8.4 per cent over the year, the latest Domain House Price Report shows.

The Sunshine Coast is the only other Queensland city to have surpassed a $1 million median, reaching the milestone in early 2022 before prices tumbled back to six figures a few months later. It’s now just shy of seven figures, having increased 5.1 per cent last year to a median of $998,000.

Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said the Gold Coast house price record highlighted just how far the former boom and bust town had come.

“This is a big milestone because it’s a psychological one for buyers,” Powell said.

The Sunshine Coast was the stronger market during the pandemic property boom, when prices jumped 60 per cent, compared with a 49 per cent increase on the Gold Coast. But the latter has held up better since, recording a milder decline in the downturn and then a stronger rebound.

“The Gold Coast only wobbled slightly … and interstate buyers have 100 per cent been a massive driver of demand there. But other demand dynamics include overseas buyers. And that demand is stronger on the Gold Coast than on the Sunshine Coast,” Powell said.

“Australians are also driven by lifestyle, and we’re willing to pay a premium for location. A million bucks is still spare change to people to Sydney.”

She expected the Sunshine Coast to return to a seven-figure house medium this year.

Gold Coast apartments also recorded steeper growth. They held steady over the quarter at $705,000, but were up 10.2 per cent year-on-year, while Sunshine Coast prices dropped 2.1 per cent last quarter to $715,000, still leaving them 7.4 per cent higher over the year.

In greater Brisbane, by comparison, unit prices rose 14.2 per cent annually to a high of $524,202, while house prices increased 9.7 per cent to a record $888,285, leaving prices in more than 60 suburbs topping the $1 million price tag.

Multiple suburbs across the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast now have medians of at least $2 million. The most expensive is Surfers Paradise, where house prices jumped 20.5 per cent last year to $2.65 million – the second-highest Queensland median after Brisbane’s New Farm, at $2,675,000. Medians were only recorded for suburbs with a minimum of 50 sales last year.