Andrew Bell’s Market Wrap: Find Your Paradise at Pacific One

Issue 11 | Thursday 2 June 2022 | Find Your Paradise at Pacific One

Hi Andrew Bell. I most certainly stimulated some great conversation out of my last eNews about population growth. Yes, people had not been considering the significant impact population has on the real estate market. A few people were not advocates for population growth, whilst others understood its significance and were as curious as I am as to how you have a real estate boom when we are in fact down 400,000 people than we would have otherwise been if the borders were open. Well, today I am just going to cover a little bit more, and that’s about migration as opposed to immigration.

Today I am coming to you from the display suite of a spectacular new high rise development here on the Gold Coast in Surfers Paradise, named Pacific One. Not only is this a superbly positioned corner, north-east facing building just metres from the beach, but it’s high quality. It’s being developed by one of Australia’s strongest developers, Central Equity – Melbourne developers who understand style and class and what’s really important is that they’re the real mcCoy. With a record of 80 projects over 35 years and a 100% completion rate of developments from announcement to sell out one thing can the certain, this building will be built and it will be outstanding. Remember that Surfers Paradise was named the number 1 selling suburb in Australia last year and so we need buildings like Pacific One to satisfy that incredible demand.

Well speaking of demand, as we know most of our population is concentrated on the eastern seaboard of Australia. The Australian Bureau of Statistics keeps a record of where the population is and the movements. The top fifty regions of Australia, only cover 5% of our country’s landmass and wait for it, accommodate 83% of Australia’s near 26 million people. It certainly gets things into perspective when we talk about overpopulation which we can see is largely limited to a number of areas and certainly not countrywide. By the way, the Gold Coast region is ranked number 6 in population size.

It’s no secret, and I am sure that most of us are aware that the pandemic has driven a significant change to how we operate in the workplace and really heightened people’s lifestyle preferences. It used to be about the attraction to move to the big cities, where there were more work opportunities and a lot more entertaining, but that has reversed itself. Just look at last year alone where 34,000 people left Melbourne, and just a little less than 30,000 left Sydney, in fact, for the year ending June 2021 there was a net 48,000 relocating away from capital cities to regional Australia.

Whilst of course here on the Gold Coast we feel like we captured them all, that’s not the case. Small amounts of migration to some areas are having a huge impact. For example, down on the Bass Coast of Victoria, they had a huge 13.8% growth over 5 years to the end of June 2021. For real estate, this is having an immediate impact. What we saw in the Bass Coast area over the same 5 year period was the prices rose by 100%. To get some perspective, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide averaged around 40% growth.

What we really don’t have yet is the most accurate recent records. With the country as big and broad as we are and even with government authorities such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics struggling with a reduced workforce, it’s not surprising we are just not getting all the information as quick as we like. But no question, the Gold Coast has been a huge attraction for migrators. Put aside the fact that we have some of the best weather in Australia, well usually, and we are one of only 5 areas in the world described as having a perfect climate. There are a host of other attractions. Important to many people is job opportunities and we have plenty of those in a broadening economic base. We have wonderful schooling for young families, per head of population, we rank near the very top scholastically and with the number of schools available. What other regional area has 3 universities? As shopping facilities get better and better, whether it’s Pacific Fair, Harbour Town, or Robina Town Centre. Our restaurants have exploded with choice and quality, and by comparison to capital cities, our housing is still extremely affordable despite the spike that has occurred over the past 2 years.

Officially at the moment we are showing our population is growing by 5.2% for the past year, but I really believe that we haven’t got the latest full data, and I think we will see a significant change as fresh data comes to hand. But, even at 5.2%, that’s over 35,000 people and that’s a mighty big jump and goes a long way to explaining why our real estate prices here on the Gold Coast rose so sharply over the past 2 years.

But let’s not kid ourselves that we will just continue to be a magnet. If our pricing gets too expensive migrators will look to other areas. If we don’t keep building new homes and units, such as Pacific One, then they simply can’t come, we can’t accommodate them. And of course, there is a responsibility by our City Council to develop our infrastructures whether it’s roads, transport or multiple other facilities needed for a growing population. Likewise, State Governments will need to continue to build medical, and educational facilities and so on.

Those who own property on the Gold Coast, they’ve been extremely happy to see a boost in their property values after a long period of stagnation. It’s really been a big case of catch up. We are still good value by comparison to the big cities, but for those still looking to buy don’t hold back, make your move as quick as you can. You may have to compromise in the area that you wanted to buy, or the style of home you wanted just to get an affordable property, but get into the market because this desire for a better lifestyle supported by improving job opportunities will continue to bring people to the Gold Coast.

Make sure if you are an apartment buyer you come and view Pacific One. They really are well-designed units and I challenge you to find better value for money than Pacific One. It’s in an ideal location, and as I said, unlike many other projects that are getting scrapped at the moment because building costs have blown out, Pacific One will be built so you won’t have wasted huge amounts of time or be stuck with higher prices because you bought in a development that got canned.

We are all pleased to see the election is out of the road and we can start focusing on perhaps some more positive things. It was a terribly distracting time, but we can start getting back to some normality. All we need to do is find a bit of sunshine here on the Gold Coast and we will remember how lucky we are to live in this stunning part of Australia.

All the best, for now, Andrew Bell.

Warm Regards,

Andrew Bell, OAM
Chief Executive Officer
The Ray White Surfers Paradise Group

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER HERE