A SWELL has been quietly building in the Gold Coast’s property market over the past 18 months with a surge in development and investment.
But it’s rising from the southern end of the Glitter Strip and not from the more well-established beachside precincts of Southport, Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.
And in a major shift for the Coast, much of its momentum is coming from smaller boutique high-rise apartment developments for owner-occupiers rather than investor-focused supertowers.
Another key driving force is a massive infrastructure spending list — including the proposed $600 million extension of the light rail to Burleigh Heads and game-changing $500 million upgrade to the Gold Coast Airport precinct.
“Certainly, there seems to be more activity generally in those beachside precincts south of Broadbeach,” said Colliers International Gold Coast director Darrell Irwin. “And the surge in development is flowing into the commercial, retail and investment markets.”
Among the hot spots are Burleigh Heads, Palm Beach, Bilinga and Coolangatta.
Mr Irwin said besides the mooted major infrastructure works, the reluctance of banks to fund bigger residential developments had resulted in the shift of focus to the southern Gold Coast and smaller apartment projects.
“If you drive around Southport’s Priority Development Area (PDA) there’s 20 or 30 different sites where you could do 100 storeys,” he said.
“In theory, it may seem all well and good to have a PDA where developers can pretty much do what they like.
“But actually it has been counter-productive because developers are concerned about all the potential competition and the banks don’t want to fund projects of such a scale in Southport. So, it’s a bit of a double whammy.
“Also, owner-occupiers want to live near the beach and have the lifestyle and amenity — including all the trendy cafes and restaurants — that the southern end of the Gold Coast offers rather than live at Southport.
“And the banks are far more comfortable with the smaller boutique projects aimed at owner-occupiers, so they’re easier to fund and easier for developers to get in and out of more quickly.
“It’s the combination of all these factors that is the reason why the southern end of the Coast is really firing.”
Projects ranging from townhouses to mid-rise apartment towers of seven to 26 storeys by savvy locally-based developers — including Sunland, Morris Property Group, the Neumann family, Lacey Group and Cru Collective — are already underway.
And according to Mr Irwin, a growing number of interstate developers are now circling development opportunities along the Coast’s southern strip.
Originally Published: www.couriermail.com.au