Gold Coast development site acquisitions soar: Knight Frank
The Gold Coast has seen a 238% surge in apartment development site purchases.
Sites along the Gold Coast Light Rail, have been keenly sought acquisitions along with popularity of suburbs such as Burleigh Heads, The Spit and Palm Beach.
Knight Frank calculated the high-density site purchases on the Gold Coast accounted for $167 million or 75% of all Gold Coast residential development sales in 2020, up from 29% the prior year.
The Gold Coast had also witness its residential market shift from being investor-led to owner-occupiers.
The 238% surge in Gold Coast apartment site acquisitions bucked the national trend of declining apartment site sales across all major capital cities, according to Knight Frank Research’s Australian Residential Development Review 2021.
The Gold Coast has also experienced greater pressure on their undersupplied rental markets, causing vacancy rates on the Gold Coast to tighten from 1.8% in 2019 to 0.9% in 2020, which in turn pushed rent values up by 1.2%.
First home buyers led the rise in new household loan commitments in both Brisbane and the Gold Coast, increasing their activity by 45% over 2020 in both markets to comprise a 29% share of all new loans approved in Queensland.
Knight Frank’s Head of Residential Research, Michelle Ciesielski said the jump in high-density site sales reflects the spotlight being placed on the Gold Coast by local and interstate developers.
"It is a trend we anticipate will continue with more owner-occupiers buying Gold Coast apartments, especially from the downsizing cohort," she said.
“There have been more options for developers down in the Gold Coast and this has been demonstrated in the significant uptick in development site sales in 2020," Knight Frank Partner, Investment Sales - Queensland, Christian Sandstrom said.
“Developers are finding it difficult to locate good residential sites in Brisbane.
“Both cities have seen increased population growth in the pandemic, very low residential vacancy attracting ramping up interest from both local and interstate developers."