Has Covid made you a millionaire? The 20 biggest growth suburbs of the pandemic

Homeowners in some surprise Queensland suburbs have almost doubled their money in just two years, with new data revealing the extent of the pandemic-induced property boom.

This property at 7 June Court, Miami, is on the market.

HOMEOWNERS in some surprise Queensland suburbs have almost doubled their money in just two years, with exclusive new data revealing the extent of the extraordinary pandemic-induced property boom.

New research from REA Group looking at house price growth over the past two years reveals property owners in the Gold Coast suburb of Miami and Sunrise Beach on the Sunshine Coast have pocketed equity of on average $700,000 in that time — without having to lift a finger.

This property at 12 Dayspring St, Sunrise Beach, is on the market.

But its not just the usual suspects. Outback Charleville has also outperformed, with the median house price jumping 82 per cent to a still very affordable $152,500.

The central Queensland town of Monto recorded a $57,450 rise in its median house price between March 2020 and March 2022 — not bad considering it was only $90,000 to start with.

This three-bedroom property at 18 Kelvin St, Monto, is on the market for $169,000.

The median house price in Miami has jumped a staggering 93 per cent in the 24 months since March 2020 when parts of the country were first placed in lockdown.

Ray White Burleigh Heads sales agent Conner Malan said Miami had become a favourite among interstate buyers because of its relative affordability to the neighbouring suburbs of Burleigh and Mermaid Beach.

“What used to be a sleepy, old beach suburb has turned into a hub thanks to interstate migrants who see far more value there,” Mr Malan said. “They can’t understand why locals aren’t jumping all over it.”

Cameron Kusher, REA Group Director of Economic Research.

REA Group executive manager economic research Cameron Kusher said the rate of growth over the past two years was “in excess of what a normal growth cycle would look like” and driven by low interest rates.

Mr Kusher said the price growth on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts had been “astronomical” and driven by the lust for lifestyle induced by the pandemic.

“And those prices may look expensive for someone from Queensland, but for someone that’s coming out of Sydney or Melbourne, absolute waterfront properties for under a couple of million dollars are really a no-brainer,” he said.

If you bought a house in Sunshine Beach two years ago, you would have made an eyewatering $1.5 million in equity on average.

This property at 18 McAnally Dr, Sunshine Beach, is on the market.

Nic Hunter of Tom Offermann Real Estate said he was not surprised the Noosa shire suburbs of Sunrise Beach, Sunshine Beach, Doonan, Cooroibah and Noosaville made up a large proportion of the top 20 list.

“With the amount of money that’s coming into town and the standing of some of the individuals coming here, I’m not surprised,” Mr Hunter said.

“Certainly through this period there have been a lot of mergers and acquisitions of businesses and a lot of business owners have been taking the rewards and moving up to the Sunshine Coast.

This property at 60 The Peninsula, Noosaville, is on the market with Tom Offerman Real Estate.

“We can work anywhere now and the corporate acceptance for employees to work from home has certainly been an opportunity for people to relocate from the city to areas where they really want to bring up family.”

In Brisbane, the inner north suburb of Gordon Park, Hawthorne in the inner east and East Brisbane were the standouts, recording growth of between 60 and 80 per cent.

Alex Rutherford of Place New Farm, who covers Brisbane’s inner suburbs, said she was finding homeowners were still reluctant to sell because they knew they were sitting on gold mines.

“Stock is still very tight,” Ms Rutherford said. “(Vendors) can sit on them because they are collecting that growth.

“It’s not like there’s a risk of the market falling back. There’s still a lot of confidence out there.”

This four-bedroom property at 69 Haig St, Gordon Park, is going to auction.

Mr Kusher said Gordon Park and East Brisbane, in particular, were slightly more affordable suburbs in Brisbane’s city ring before the pandemic, so that could explain why those areas outperformed.

“For Hawthorne, it already had a median price over a million dollars, but it’s a good little pocket,” he said. “It’s kind of its own peninsula that no one goes into too much. It’s near the river, so I think that ticks a few of the boxes.”