By Andrew Batt:
Property buyers who are looking to acquire new premium apartments on Australia’s Gold Coast are being urged to act fast as the current supply may be entirely sold within the next two years.
Tony Holland, Residential Director of Project Marketing for Colliers International, said apartments in the region’s three luxurious ‘super towers’ – The Oracle in Broadbeach (pictured), and Hilton and Soul in Surfers Paradise – were being snapped up by buyers who recognised the extraordinary value of current pricing levels.
The latest Colliers International research on the Gold Coast new apartment market found 546 apartments were sold in total over 2012, with 229 – or nearly 42 percent of these being in the three super towers. This is in stark contrast to 2011 and 2010, when there were only 74 and 68 sales reported respectively.
Lynda Campbell, Colliers International Research Manager, said with late 2012 settlements still to come through, the final 2012 sales figures for these luxury apartments may prove to be even higher.
Holland added that the super towers had attracted pent up demand after pricing in both Hilton and The Oracle was adjusted in early 2012.
"The figures speak for themselves," he said. "Buyers are clearly seizing the opportunity to buy high quality new luxury apartments on the Gold Coast at prices that are currently below replacement. The prices these premium apartments are selling for now simply cannot be replicated in the future."
In addition to seeing the market as great value, Holland noted the sense of urgency was being created amongst buyers of super tower apartments because the availability of new stock was drying up.
"These two factors are pushing smart buyers to re-enter the market, and to act quickly," he said, adding: "They know they need to act now or there will be nothing left.”
Holland also noted there had been a lot of negativity surrounding the Gold Coast apartment market in recent years, with a great deal of talk about oversupply and high prices, particularly in relation to the super towers. But he said things had now clearly turned a corner.
"There is no doubt the negativity is dissipating. There was a cloud over the region’s residential market and that cloud is now lifting. Recent data indicates that residential prices in Australia on the whole are on their way back up, with confidence returning, and the Gold Coast is set to follow suit.”
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
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