How to pick a Gold Coast suburb for your next property move

Picking the right suburb for your next Gold Coast property can be difficult. If you are looking to buy an investment property to generate a return, your criteria will be different to someone looking for a family home.

How do you pick a suburb?

Sales data 

If you're looking for a property that will make you some money when you sell, you'll need to be looking at as much financial and economic data as you can get your hands on. Find reports on recent sale prices and year-on-year comparisons in terms of value and number. See if you can spot spikes or lows, or identify suburbs that are just starting to boom. Areas that have been booming for a while could be heading for a fall. A potential drop will matter if you want to hang on to your Gold Coast property for a few years. If you are looking to refurbish and move on within a few months, you might feel confident you can get in and out before prices lower. 

Amenities and future plans

Whatever the reason for investing in a property, if you're keen on a suburb, look at future plans for the area. Check if there are schemes for new housing, an additional highway or another out of town mall, and think about whether they'll suit your lifestyle. You'll also want to consider what any change of infrastructure would mean for your property value. A new transport link could increase values significantly, while hundreds of new houses and no additional road could cause a traffic nightmare and put people off the area.

Schools and crime rates

If you are looking for Gold Coast real estate to become your family home, you'll want to know what the schools are like. There may be a variety of factors you consider important in looking at education – results, after-school activities, sports events and class sizes are just some of the things you may want to check out before committing to an area. 

Particularly pertinent if you have young kids or teenagers about to start exploring the area on their own, are crime rates. There's never a guarantee that an area is crime free but by looking at current statistics and trends, you can work out where you'd feel most comfortable living. This is one consideration that is really worth talking to locals about. They'll be able to tell you if things have changed and how safe they feel walking around at night. If you don't know anyone in the area, attend a local community event or spend some time at the park and make conversation.

What are the suburbs worth looking at in the Gold Coast?

Good for families

Maudsland, Pacific Pines, Gilston and Upper Coomera are places to consider, according to Aussie. Over 60 per cent of households have children and many houses are priced within reach. Bundall tops review-based Homely's list of suburbs for many reasons, including being a great place for families, while Broadbeach Waters comes second.

For return on investment

In the central suburbs, Mermaid Waters is one to watch, according to Andrew Hendersen of the Real Estate Institute of Queenland. Prices have grown but not as much as neighbouring areas. Tugun, in the south, is close to a couple of suburbs which have really spiked over the last few years, and Mr Hendersen thinks it could be next. Coomera is due to be home to a new Westfield Shopping Centre which sees additional infrastructure being planned.

For transport links

Carrara and Parkwood have decent transport links already and have investment planned over the next few years. The new light rail system currently goes as far as Broadbeach South, with plans including extensions to Helensvale, Coolangatta and Burleigh Heads. The M1 runs north to south close to a number of suburbs including Coomera, and Robina.

For information about focusing your Gold Coast property search, contact the team at Ray White Surfers Paradise today.