Gold Coast unit real estate market: Real reason behind Coast’s record property prices

The supply of new Gold Coast units on the market has plummeted, with a report warning the crunch on the property sector has worsened in the past 18-months.

The supply of new Gold Coast units on the market has plummeted, with a report warning the crunch on the property sector has worsened in the past 18-months.

Fresh findings from property consulting firm Urbis have underlined the struggles in the market, with available property falling while prices continue to rise.

The report reveals the average sale price of new apartments climbed again in the June quarter, reaching $1.77m, up 56 per cent from the $1.13m recorded in September 2023. Urbis senior consultant Lynda Campbell said the market showed no signs of relief.

“Based on the June quarter sales momentum, this means the Gold Coast currently has just 12 months’ supply of new apartments, which is down from less than 18 months in the March quarter,” she said.

Lynda Campbell. Picture by Scott Fletcher

“While that doesn’t take into account new supply coming into the market over the next year, it does provide some perspective on why we have seen record prices every quarter since September last year. Our research clearly shows that total available stock continues to decrease at a time when demand remains elevated.

“Most of the sales during the June quarter were made in the Gold Coast Central precinct which accounted for 295 sales.

“However, just four projects in that precinct currently represent around 62 per cent of all the available supply on the Gold Coast which highlights the low number of new projects that are coming onto the market.”

The unit market remains under pressure. Picture Glenn Hampson.

According to the data, there were 331 new unit sales in the June quarter, up from 240 in the previous three months.

There were 1321 units for sale by June 30.

Developers continue to report high sales as more than 15,000 people move to the city annually while construction of new housing fails to keep pace.

The high migration rate, combined with a lack of available land or new units has seen property prices spike.

Urbis in September warned the city faced the “risk of a dramatic slowdown”, with thousands of units appearing increasing unlikely to be delivered in coming years despite record population growth and record-breaking sales.

Urbis director Paul Riga at the time blamed “cost constraints” for the already slowing market, with the number of projects launched in the first three months of 2024 the lowest since the beginning of the Covid pandemic.

Originally published as Gold Coast unit real estate market: Real reason behind Coast’s record property prices