Is Your Suburb Property Market Up or Down?

A mix of property market reports have come to light this week however one stood out for its relevance to the Gold Coast marketplace and Robina in particular. The article discusses the suburbs on the Gold Coast that have seen house price growth and those that have recorded declines.

Robina was a standout in the price rise category with a price increase of 13.9% over the last recorded quarter. Whilst this increase is positive, the report went on to say that there are now early signs of price falls in certain areas and pockets of the Gold Coast.

There is a clear difference between buyers and sellers, with reports that four out of five homeowners believe that prices will keep rising whilst another article stated that four out of five potential buyers believe that home ownership is unachievable for them.

These are the first signs that a gap is about to emerge between what a seller wants and what a buyer can afford to pay.

Please see below an article from yesterday's Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin written under the heading of "Gold Coast Median house price fall in first sign of market slowdown.

Gold Coast median house prices fall in first sign of market slowdown

Median house prices are down in 14 Gold Coast suburbs as the city’s property market starts to show signs of a slowdown after two years of frenetic growth.

Yet, while prices are falling in some areas, boom times continue in hot spots, where median house prices have surged by up to 50 per cent in the past quarter.

REA Group’s Market Trends March report shows 2022’s biggest price drop of 15.6 per cent was in Jacobs Well on the Coast’s northern shores — a significant downturn from the area’s pandemic peak, which put median prices up 21.7 per cent over 12 months from March 2021.

The report analysed areas with more than 10 house sales over the three month period, and found median prices were down by more than 5 per cent in eight of the suburbs, including:

Paradise Point (-9.7); Ormeau Hills (-8.6); Benowa (-8.2); Reedy Creek (-8.1); Oxenford (-7.6); Runaway Bay (-6.7); and Carrara (-5.4).

Meanwhile, 12 suburbs notched up double-digit growth, with trendy Palm Beach up 55.2 per cent. Sales in Mermaid Beach were up 42.5 per cent, and 27.4 per cent in Broadbeach Waters.

REIQ Gold Coast zone chair Andrew Henderson said affordability constraints and expected interest rate hikes were weighing on consumer sentiment.

“Where we were seeing record after record being set, now we are probably seeing a bit more stability in the market,” Mr Henderson said.

“Potentially that big leap forward with each sale is no longer there, but overall the market is relatively healthy for the fact it has found a level.

“Every market has a cycle and can’t continue with those double digit growth figures every year,” he said.

Buyers agent Oliver Dunstan, of Rose and Jones, said supply remained tight, despite an easing of last year’s frenzied buying activity by owner-occupiers, when homes were snapped up for a premium, often sight-unseen by buyers in locked down states.

“While buyers are dealing with tighter lending policy, prospective vendors need to react to the changed market conditions and price their properties accordingly. We have seen more price reductions this quarter than the past two years, which shows certain owners and agents’ expectations are out of line with buyers’ view on value, and they need to adjust,” Mr Dunstan said.

“Last year, most overpriced properties would still sell – that is not the case this year,” he said.

Jacobs Well agent Belinda Beekman, of Area Specialist Property Solutions, said the data reflected an increase in mid-range property sales in the area, compared with last year when luxurious waterfront homes in the master planned community of Calypso Bay were snapped up by seachange buyers.

Figures in the top-ranked southern suburbs were bolstered by big sales early in the year, including an oceanfront highrise development site in Palm Beach, sold under the hammer for $13.51 million this month.
Mermaid Beach kicked off the year with the $14.5 million off-market sale of a Hedges Ave beach house owned by property developer Marcus Dore and his wife, Nine Gold Coast news co-presenter Eva Milic.

Mr Dunstan said sale prices in those high-end markets where demand remained strong were less likely to be affected.

“Buyers in certain price points, particularly the low end of the market, will have less borrowing capacity compared to 2020/21 when government stimulus was a factor and COVID-19 restrictions drove higher saving and spending ability,” Mr Dunstan said.

“Someone who may have had $1 million to spend last year may today only be able to borrow $850-$900,000, which naturally affects what they can offer. Whereas those looking to spend $1.5 million to $5 million-plus in the stronger or more desirable areas aren’t as adversely affected by these changes.”

>>>>>>>HOUSE SALE PRICES<<<<<<

DOWN

Jacobs Well -15.6%

Paradise Point -9.7%

Ormeau Hills -8.6%

Benowa -8.2%

Reedy Creek -8.1%

Oxenford -7.6%

Runaway Bay -6.7%

Carrara -5.4%

Tamborine -4.5%

Surfers Paradise -3.9%

UP

Palm Beach 55%

Mermaid Beach 42.5%

Broadbeach Waters 27.4%

Burleigh Waters 17%

Highland Park 16.3%

Molendinar 15.5%

Bundall 14.7%

Robina 13.9%

Maudsland 13.5%

Pacific Pines 11.7%