Gold Coast southern suburbs are no longer a secret with 
homebuyers discovering them in droves, pushing house prices to record levels in places such as Tallebudgera and Coolangatta.
The strength of the southern market has seen the number of its suburbs in the top 25 for price growth rise from four in 2014-15 to seven.
Tallebudgera was one of the biggest improvers over the past year, moving 49 places up the list with a massive 19.1 per cent jump in the median sale price for houses in the area.
Ten years ago the median sale price was $530,000, compared to $810,000 today.
Tallebudgera real estate specialist Kylie Wardrop, of McGrath Palm Beach, said interstate buyers, young families and people looking for dual-living properties were fuelling the increase in demand.
“A lot of my sales have been to Sydney buyers,” Ms Wardrop said.
“They sell for a premium back home and are able to buy a beautiful property here.
“There are also young families who have outgrown their suburban homes and want to raise their kids on a bit of land.
“Dual living properties are also popular with extended families.”
Ms Wardrop said the lure of Tallebudgera for buyers was the acreage properties close to quality schools and the beach.
“People buy there because they are looking for space and it is only 10 minutes to the beach,” she said.
“There is easy access to the M1 motorway as well.”
She said despite strong growth, the peak of the market had not been reached and she predicted further growth.
“But I don’t think we’ll see growth of another 19 per cent,” she said.
The other southern suburbs to make the top 25 were Coolangatta (up 16.3 per cent), Palm Beach (up 13.9 per cent), Burleigh Waters (up 13.6 per cent), Burleigh Heads (up 11.4 per cent), Currumbin Waters (up 10.6 per cent) and Miami (up 10 per cent).
REIQ Gold Coast zone chairman John Newlands said some southern suburbs were shaking off a poor reputation and experiencing gentrification as wealthier residents moved in and displaced people from lower-income groups.
“I think suburbs such as Miami have become popular with people who previously would not have gone there,” he said.
“They have come into their own with new restaurants and markets opening, which has also made them more attractive.”
Developers have cottoned on to the trend as well, with Sunland launching a $62 million development, Magnoli Residences, in Palm Beach.
Mr Newlands said another reason for the popularity of southern suburbs was their affordability relative to other beachside areas such as Mermaid Beach, where the median has hit $1.21 million.
Original article published at www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au by Alister Thomson & Kristy Muir, Gold Coast Bulletin 31/5/
