Could tourism be a factor in the Gold Coast’s strong property market?

Regional property figures have just been released by analytics intelligence company CoreLogic, and they show that the Gold Coast’s property market has been improving over the past couple of years.

CoreLogic links these increases to the fact that the region’s tourism has also been on the rise, so how might they be related?

Tourism on the Gold Coast

Beaches, wildlife, incredible weather, theme parks, scenic landscapes and a thriving cultural scene – it’s no wonder tourism is booming.

The Gold Coast Tourism Corporation’s (GCTC) 2015 annual report highlight’s how the destination was the best performing holiday destination over the previous year. It went on to highlight exciting growth statistics, such as the fact that there was a 6.2 per cent increase in visitor numbers, and a record-breaking $1.1billion spend through international visitor expenditures. In its five-year plan for 2017-2021, GCTC has set a goal of bringing the amount of visitor expenditure up to a full $7billion by 2020.

Of course, the Gold Coast is already setting its sights on the excitement and additional economic boost that may come from the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth Games Federation called the city “a natural sporting playground and one of the world’s most scenic beach cities”, outlining some of the Gold Coast’s best attributes.

The state of the Gold Coast property market

CoreLogic’s Regional Market Update linked the tourism boom to residential property, saying “since late 2014, Gold Coast home values have been steadily trending upwards as the Gold Coast’s tourism market has improved.”

The Gold Coast, along with the Sunshine Coast, were the two strongest regions over the quarter to June, as both unit and house values saw increases – which couldn’t be said for many places around the country. In fact, house values are up by 7.4 per cent, bringing the median to $572,827. Unit price increases were almost as strong, moving from $359,284 up to $377,154 over the space of the year, an improvement of 5 per cent.

Such increases may be exciting news for those who have been holding on to either a house or unit on the Gold Coast, as a growing property market can mean fantastic returns for those looking to sell in Surfers Paradise and surrounds. Plus, anyone looking for a quick sale, as the region’s average time for a property to be on the market was just 67 days, which is one of the fastest in the country (and almost twice as fast as Gippsland, Victoria, which had an average of 117 days).

The rental market on the Gold Coast hasn’t quite seen the same increases, but remains steady. For example, rates are up 4 and 4.2 per cent for units and houses respectively over the year, yet yields have remained consistent over the year for units, and fell slightly for houses.

Overall, the sales activity for the year to May was more or less unchanged. That said, 12 months in property is a short space of time, so it doesn’t honestly reflect the long-term trends in the area. Compared with five years ago, current sales figures are actually 17.8 per cent up on average, and a whopping 67.4 per cent higher than its lowest recent point in May 2012.

Without a doubt, there’s certainly plenty happening around Surfers Paradise and the Gold Coast. With one of the strongest tourism markets in the country, and a positive property market, it’s an exciting time to be considering purchasing or selling real estate in the area. If you’re thinking about joining in on the trend, or want to know more about the potential throughout the region, chat to the Ray White team for more information.