SEASIDE PROPERTY has turned out to be the most lucrative real estate investment anywhere in the world, and no more so than in the 'sunshine state' of Queensland, Australia's favourite coastal playground.
Property remains the country's best blue-chip investment, on the Gold Coast in particular, with an average annual growth of 8 per cent over the past 30 years. Further north, the Great Barrier Reef gateway cities of Townsville and Cairns continue to power ahead, recording median price increases of 18.2 per cent and 9 per cent respectively last year.
Housing in Australia is traditionally of the house-and-land variety, but apartments make sense, especially when choosing a holiday home. They are easy to manage, can be let to other holidaymakers when you are not using them, and are proven investment performers.
Leading real estate firm PRDnationwide said its Gold Coast high-rise apartment sales had risen 60 per cent over the past three months. The selling price of new high-rise developments had also increased from A$716,000 ($4.16million) for an average apartment in the December quarter last year to A$864,000 in the March quarter this year.
Tony Holland, the firm's project marketing manager, predicted the trend would continue. 'The positive fundamentals of an expanding population, strong economy and general strength of the property market on the Gold Coast are ensuring that interest in the residential market remains strong.'
Similarly, developers of Sanctuary Cove, a fully integrated waterfront residential resort on the Gold Coast, recently experienced their best selling spell. Sales amounting to A$27 million, involving both new and established homes, had been recorded since mid-April, said Neil Paton, sales manager, Sanctuary Cove Realty.
'Buyers see the value in purchasing property that is increasingly becoming more difficult to obtain, particularly in a gated community where water and golf are part of the lifestyle,' he said.
