Luke Henderson: ‘Mayor of Mermaid’ sees bright future for city’s property market

Nobody expected Gold Coast property prices to continue rising during the COVID-19 pandemic. But one of the city’s leading figures says it may be only the start.

HE’S the unofficial mayor of Mermaid.

Arranging a time for our interview, Luke Henderson suggests it might be best to meet at my home.

“If we go to a cafe at Nobbys, we’ll be interrupted a hundred times,” says the director of John Henderson Professionals Mermaid Beach.

While Luke insists he would never stand for an elected political position, there’s no doubt he already holds a high standing among the “constituents’’ of his suburb and its surrounds.

In fact, so popular is this hometown boy made good – whose parents still live in the same Mermaid Beach home he was born into – he even had to design his own piece of real estate to provide some privacy.

“I could have built a balcony at the front of our house for some ocean views, but I knew I’d never be able to use it because people would stop to chat if they saw me,” says Luke, whose very first job was at the 7-Eleven next door to the family business.

“It’s not that I don’t love people or my neighbours, but sometimes you just need some downtime.”

Luke Henderson, director, Professionals Mermaid Beach, Gold Coast. Picture: Regi Varghese.

After all, life is always busy for the father of four. Although again, that’s somewhat by design.

Luke is not only one of the Gold Coast’s leading real estate agents, still based in the same office his father founded on the corner of Markeri Street and the Gold Coast Highway. He is also the director of racing for the Gold Coast Turf Club, a board member of the St Hilda’s Foundation, and a board member and convener for the Nobby Beach Neighbourhood Watch. His company sponsors Mermaid, Nobby and Miami surf clubs, as well as the Mermaid Beach Bowls Club.

It’s a lot.

But even as 2020 winds down, his schedule is only gearing up.

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Because Mermaid is at the heart of a citywide price boom.

“It’s defied all the predictions from when COVID started. I don’t think anyone expected our property prices to soar,” he says.

“My inkling is that this may only be the start. The interstate buyers we’re seeing right now are those who are able to buy without selling. Those buyers are few and far between.

“Once we get to the point where southerners can show and sell their homes and come up here, it could really get crazy. This may only be the tip of the iceberg.

“But at the same time, in my experience people invest big in property when there is a lot of confidence in employment. And that is absolutely not the case right now. There is no such thing as a job for life anymore … people are lucky if they know they have a job next year.”

Luke and David (red hats) Henderson, David’s wife Rhonda, and their father John Henderson pictured with the Melbourne Cup after their horse Fiorente won in 2013.

Even as a betting man (he co-owned 2013 Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente), Luke says he would not like to gamble on a prediction for the property market

Regardless, he says the popularity of the Gold Coast, and especially its beachfront suburbs, is as close to a sure thing as possible.

He says while construction of the light rail from Broadbeach to Burleigh will only boost the beach precinct prices further, the real pay-off for locals will be a rebuild of the Gold Coast Highway shopfronts.

“You wonder what tourists must think when they drive down the Gold Coast Highway in Mermaid … this is the Mermaid Beach they’ve heard about it?” he says.

“It’s massage shops and low-rent businesses housed in buildings that were never designed to last.

“Even when people rave about Nobbys village, when you look at the actual buildings the only ‘village’ vibe I get is a retirement village.

“These buildings were never meant for cafes and clothing shops. The best thing we can do is to knock them down and start again.

“But having said that, maintaining the character of the suburb is important. It should feel beachy and casual, but it should be beautiful too.

“The best thing that can happen for Nobbys is the light rail and the redevelopment of the shops (the proposed three-storey mixed-use retail village fronting Lavarack Road and the Gold Coast Highway).

“We need to start those constructions as soon as possible and hopefully at the same time. Yes, it’s going to be a bit of pain for locals and businesses, but it will be a huge reward in the end.

“When we get a development that suits the character of a suburb, we need to embrace it and support it.”

The proposed Frederick development at Nobby Beach.

Luke says although some residents will always be simply anti-development, many who pursue the “perfect’’ development are damaging their own suburbs.

He says residents across the Coast should be careful what they wish for.

“My fear is that if we knock back something like the Nobbys redevelopment, we’ll end up with something way over the top, both in size and in level of luxury.

“We don’t want to end up with more developments like Jewel. It just does not fit the Gold Coast at all. It sticks out like a sore thumb.

“How many locals will enjoy a six-star hotel? It looks nice from a distance but when you’re a pedestrian walking at street level, it’s anything but inviting.”

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Luke says while he supports light rail through to Burleigh and the highway redevelopment it will bring, he thinks the stage 4 extension is not necessary.

He says building the tram out to the Gold Coast Airport will be too costly and is not wanted by a vocal contingent of southern residents.

“If they don’t want it, let them deal with that,” he says.

“For me, I already use the light rail to go to Southport, although I’ll use it a lot more when I don’t have to get a bus from Mermaid to Broadbeach first.

“I know I’ll use it all the time to head to Burleigh as well. I hardly go there anymore because I can never get a park. I think it will really boost our local economy.

“But to me, anything south of Burleigh is just not worth it. It’s too much expense for too little pay-off. All my property buyers are always looking for something between Broadbeach and Burleigh. That’s the sweet spot of the Gold Coast.”

Luke Henderson, director, Professionals Mermaid Beach. Photo: Regi Varghese

Luke says the other development he is opposed to in his local area is the Oceanway.

He says extending it along the beachfront of Mermaid would mean either resuming private properties or watching it be destroyed by the first cyclone.

“I love the idea of an Oceanway stretching from north to south but it just doesn’t work at Mermaid,” he says.

“The A-line seawall is inside people’s back yards, so either we take back that land or we build the walkway that will be washed away in the first cyclone. It’s a waste of money.

“I think a far more sensible idea would be to rip out and re-do the footpaths along Albatross and Hedges Avenue, set a speed limit for cyclists and put the power underground.

“That way we could still have a great, connected, walkable track near the beach. It would just duck behind the houses for a couple of kilometres.

“Right now we have a bike lane and a car lane, but all the pedestrians use the bike lane because the footpaths are so uneven and have all of these roadblocks in them, like electricity poles.

“If we made a pedestrian path that was usable, it would be cheap and effective. Bikes wouldn’t be veering into traffic and cyclists and pedestrians wouldn’t be fighting.

“I think we also need to slow the cyclists down. This is not an area to conduct your time trials, this is a shared public space and ultimately, pedestrians need to always have the right of way.”

Luke says his opinions are the very reason he is not interested in politics. He would much rather be a private citizen who is free to express personal views.

But he admits he always has a heart for civic duties – and much of that comes down to how he was raised.

“I’m often asked to speak at conferences but I always warn them that if they want a speech about working smarter, not harder, then I’m not their man,” he says. “I’m usually first in the office and last to leave.

“I was raised to be a hard worker. My parents ran the real estate business and a catering company for the Gold Coast Turf Club, plus they volunteered and sponsored surf life saving clubs. We never had a minute that wasn’t being busy but we loved it.

“That’s why I’m on the turf club board now, as well as working with the St Hilda’s Foundation, the surf clubs, Neighbourhood Watch and so on. Giving back is my business, even if I’m not paid for it.”

Luke says despite being raised as the youngest of three boys, being a father to four daughters has inspired his own feminist moment.

He says creating opportunities for girls in the workforce is one of the driving reasons he became involved with the St Hilda’s Foundation, and he also hopes to inspire more fathers to make their daughters’ education as much of a priority as their sons’.

“It’s hard to believe these attitudes still exist, but they do,’’ he says.

“I think it’s the same case as with racism. Real change takes time. That’s why it’s called generational.”

Luke says when it comes to crime on the Coast, it’s a case of back to the future.

When he was growing up, the beachside streets of Mermaid were often not owner-occupied and he says there was a spike in petty crime.

“As the suburb became less rental-heavy that problem went away, but then it started happening again about 10 years ago.

“We decided to sponsor the reformation of the Neighbourhood Watch and now I’ve somehow ended up as the convener.

“Our suburb has a lot of invested residents. They care about what is happening. There are some instances of theft but overall, it’s a safe suburb.

“Down in Miami there is a bit more trouble but that’s because of the areas that aren’t owner-occupied. When you have low-rent streets, that can create a problem.

“That’s another reason I don’t want to be a politician. There are some hard issues to solve. But I feel that as a true local, I have an insight that not everyone has.”

Although he might never be an elected official for his hometown, there is no doubt Luke will fight for his city regardless – even though that sometimes means defending it against its own residents.

“I was born in Southport Hospital, I went to school at Marymount College, I have four daughters who were born here and this city is in my blood. I care passionately for it,” he says.

“I understand people who get upset that it’s not the way it was, but that is the nature of the Gold Coast. Change is not a bad thing.

“This is one of the most beautiful, dynamic cities in the world and our lifestyle is second to none. Who wouldn’t want to live here?”

Selling the Gold Coast is not just a job for Luke, it is his life.

And that is a vote of confidence.