Gold Coast could be more expensive than Sydney by 2027

THE Gold Coast could soon steal Sydney’s crown as Australia’s most expensive location to buy property.

It already sits in second spot, with a median house price of $1.17 million, according to Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee.

And growth at the current rate will see it match the harbour city’s $1,7 million median price by 2027.

In the last 12 months, house prices on the Gold Coast have grown 9% compared to the national average of 8.5% offering a better capital return on investment than even Sydney.

“Luxury continues to be the top performer, with the luxury housing market significantly outperforming the market as a whole,” says Conisbee.

It’s all about luxury lifestyle including five-star restaurants and top end premium properties, according to a Ray White report that showed there were 56 sales over $5 million last year.

She adds that the statistics show there is substantially more money at the high end of the market with “incredible homes being built”.

New research from the Australia Institute shows the wealth of the very rich has tripled in the past two decades with the top fifth of households holding wealth 146 times greater than the bottom fifth.

Some of the country’s richest Australians, including property developers Bob Ell and Harry Triguboff, have properties on the Gold Coast.

“The Gold Coast is a very nice place to live and the population growth shows that,” says Conisbee.

The Ray White report found population movement from cities such as Sydney and Melbourne to regional Queensland remains elevated with 15,300 people in total moving from regional areas of Australia in 2023.

At the same time, there has been a lift in the quality of housing available, fueled by renovation activity, she adds.

“There is a lot more investment in housing from people coming from Melbourne and Sydney and either downsizing, or keeping a city apartment and buying a larger home on the Gold Coast.”

White Surfers Paradise Group chairman Andrew Bell: “The top end of the market keeps getting stronger and stronger. That is benefitting from migrators who can move interstate, buy their dream home and still have money in their pocket.

“The Gold Coast might once have been a place you would only buy a holiday home but now we are seeing a belief in the region like never before.

Bell admits the Gold Coast boom is not good news for all buyers.

Higher interest rates have taken their toll on the number of people in the market looking for a home with some buyers finding the prices of real estate far outstripping their budget.

Bell adds that government policies related to building more affordable housing are not making any dent in the number of properties that are needed nationally.

“Last year we needed 250,000 more homes for Australians but only 175,000 were built,” he says.