The main factor influencing potential NSW buyers in their house hunt is looking for the most bang for their buck, which is why this location is drawing so much attention.
It could be the bright lights of Surfers Paradise, or maybe the laid back lifestyle of Burleigh Heads, but let’s face it — the main reason potential buyers from NSW are househunting on the Gold Coast is “bang for buck”.
The various beachside suburbs in the greater Gold Coast area proved to be the most clicked on interstate locations for New South Welshmen in the year to January 31, according to data from realestate.com.au.
“When we look at property seekers outside of Queensland who are looking on the Gold Coast, more than half of them are coming from NSW,” said Nerida Conisbee, chief economist at REA Group.
“It is in direct contrast to Victorian property seekers who quite like the Gold Coast but have a much stronger preference for Tasmania.”
“I think a lot of it has to do with lifestyle. The Gold Coast is like Sydney, but warmer, easier to get around, more relaxed and certainly a lot cheaper,” she added.
A whopping 90,222 searches for Surfers Paradise originated from NSW according to the REA statistics.
The famous South Queensland spot is home to a host of high-rise apartments where the median price for a two-bedroom unit is $386,750 – a price tag unheard of in any Sydney beach suburb for the best part of two decades.
The second most popular spot for wannabe buyers from the Premier State with 69,801 searches was Coolangatta, right on the boarder of NSW and Queensland.
The location, which famously inspired Porpoise Spit in the 1994 film Muriel’s Wedding, has a two-bedroom unit median price of $503,000 – barely enough to snag a studio in Bondi Beach or Manly.
“In terms of who is searching, unfortunately we don’t know exactly. We do know that not only do we see a lot of people looking to buy on the Gold Coast from NSW, but we also see a lot of people looking to rent. This means we have a pretty good mix of people wanting to live there, as well as invest there,” Ms Conisbee said.
Tony Coughran of Gold Coast Property Advisors said value for money was definitely a driver.
“We’re often helping clients relocate from NSW, or more specifically Sydney. They see great value for the lifestyle they can achieve in this part of Queensland,” he said, adding that retirees and downsizers make up a large proportion of buyers he sees.
“You know, in this area you can even buy a mansion for $1 million if you really look around,” Mr Coughran said.
According to CoreLogic data the median house price in Sydney is $985,000.
The Sunshine State also has lower stamp duty rates than NSW.
When purchasing a home for $500,000 in NSW the tax is $17,990, while the same valued property in Queensland only attracts a duty of $8750.
While some savvy investors might be put off by the rocky past Queensland property has suffered over the past 10 to 20 years, Mr Coughran said those days are long gone.
“The Gold Coast is really moving away from the ‘boom and bust’ time of the 1980s and 1990s.
Those peaks and toughs have really started to level out. Back then it was all about tourism and not much else. While tourism will never go away, there is more industry here now,” he said.
Broadbeach, also on the Gold Coast, was next on the list of popular places with 66,990 searches followed by the nearby beachy Burleigh Heads with 62,648 hits.
Surprisingly, number five on the most searched list was Wodonga, 1400kms south of the Gold Coast on the Victorian side of the NSW border with 61,012 hits.
Overall, searches for Queensland property that originated in NSW totalled 8.788 million hits.
Top searched areas from NSW buyers looking interstate
Surfers Paradise – QLD90,222
Coolangatta – QLD 69,801
Broadbeach – QLD 66,990
Burleigh Heads – QLD 62,648
Wodonga – VIC 61,012
Southport – QLD 55,285
Palm Beach – QLD 53,433
Launceston – TAS 43,420
Hope Island – QLD 39,384
Wangaratta – VIC 38,898
Originally published as The place Sydneysiders want to buy
Source: news.com.au