Comparatively, only 26 houses sold in the previous three years for a total of $19 million.
Fox Realty principal Mick Flynn said developers were squeezing home buyers out of the market to build highrises near the light rail track.
“The few houses left on large blocks near the light rail are gold mines,” he said.
“Southport will look like a very different place in a few years and everyone who is involved in stand-alone houses will do very well.
“Developers will often doorknock the older houses and try to convince people to sell on the spot but they normally run smaller operations than you would think.
“They are mainly Australians pooling money together to do medium-level high-rises.”
Mr Flynn said the light rail was also drawing people to the area which was bolstering prices.
“Southport used to be a very poor suburb but it is being revitalised and if you watch where the biggest increases in price occur, it lines up with the light rail and the Priority Development Area zone,” he said.
“People who once would have turned away from Southport are now interested because of the wealth pouring into the city.
“When an area starts to improve like this it becomes attractive and you start seeing more small businesses and those boutique bars pop up.”
Committee for Southport chairman John Howe, who helped create the PDA status in 2013, said business had returned to the hub after several tough years.
“When we started this process three years ago, people just were not interested in Southport,” he said.
“The GFC and the light rail construction had devastated the area and people didn’t start coming back until we put together an overall map to show people how much money was about to be spent on the area.
“It was about $5 billion worth of investment and infrastructure and that was due to the PDA, confidence returning to the economy and acknowledgment Southport is the CBD.”
He said the area was experiencing a cultural revolution, with bars and restaurants flourishing off increased night trade.
“You walk around the area now and restaurants are full and the large community is out enjoying themselves,” he said.
“Business owners from Nobbys and Burleigh are now looking at Southport as the place to be because of how far we have come.”
It’s time to go but David’s home has increased fivefold in value
RETIRED teacher David Hortz grew up in Southport 50 years ago, a long time before developers plastered skyscrapers across the horizon.
The 59-year-old bought his family home at market value for $140,000 in 2000 and in January this year turned the same property into $612,000.
Mr Hortz said he had chosen to leave his Merron St home to get away from the chaos of city life.
“It used to be so quiet and I knew everyone in the area, but now it is too loud and there is so much traffic,” he said,
“All my friends sold their houses to developers who put up big highrises and one day I woke up and realised I didn’t know anyone any more.
“I would have preferred to stay but all the construction was just too much for me.”
Mr Hortz used his payout to buy a quiet duplex at Murev Way, Carrara, for $311,000 and retire.
