Gold Coast suburbs with the most millionaires after house boom

PHOTO: The Gold Coast is home to more real estate millionaires than ever before. FILE

According to realestate.com.au the number of seven-figure property sales has skyrocketed over the past decade, with more homeowners becoming real estate millionaires in 2021 than ever before.

A total of 5,896 properties sold for $1 million or more last year, accounting for 24 per cent of the 24,511 residential transactions across the city’s suburbs, latest data from CoreLogic shows.

It was a huge jump from five years ago, when just 8.7 per cent or 1,723 of the total 19,847 homes sold across the Gold Coast in 2016 were priced at $1 million-plus.

In 2011, there were 706 seven-figure sales, or 7.5 per cent of the 9,437 annual transactions — revealing the steep recent rise as median house prices have soared through QLD’s post-pandemic boom.

14 Southern Cross Dr, Surfers Paradise is marketed by Joey Ho. The Glitter Strip has the highest number of $1 million-plus sales

Surfers Paradise maintained its crown, notching up the city’s highest number of big-ticket sales through the decade, with 408 million-dollar homes among the 2,709 properties that changed hands there last year.

That number was up from 201 in 2016, and 115 in 2011.

Close behind was exclusive Hope Island, claiming second place for total high sales in each year represented, with 384 million-dollar homes offloaded last year.

But the data reveals a broader picture of the city’s dwindling affordability, as Palm Beach came in with last year’s third highest number of $1 million sales, representing a whopping 50.4 per cent — or 297 of the suburb’s 589 total transactions.

Luxury five-bedroom property at 3113 Riverleigh Dr, Hope Island, marketed by Ivy Realty

Ten years ago, that figure was just 5.8 per cent, or 17 of the total 295 sales in the once-maligned southern enclave now typical of the city’s gentrification within micro-markets.

Southern Coast specialist Troy Dowker, of Kollosche, said confidence in Palm Beach’s residential market rose post-GFC as commercial development and an emerging cafe culture re-defined the area as one of the city’s most desirable addresses.

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“Palm Beach was relatively undervalued in the last cycle, and represented great value compared with its neighbours, Currumbin to the south and Burleigh to the north, so people pushed out of those areas which made Palm Beach really attractive,” Mr Dowker said.

Bridesmaid suburbs behind the beachside strip also raced ahead, with Broadbeach Waters, Mermaid Waters, Burleigh Waters and Bundall each showing big price hikes.

Million dollar-plus transactions as a proportion of the total sales in those suburbs in 2021 were: 75.9%; 57.8%; 54.3%; and 64.8% respectively.

A unique family home at 4 Blackwood Pl in the hotspot of Palm Beach

Mark Stafford, of Ray White Broadbeach, said there had been a, “changing of the guards” in these areas, as homeowners who purchased in the 1970s moved on and new owners added value by rebuilding or renovating original homes.

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“Broadbeach Waters had been held in high regard, but people didn’t think Mermaid Waters was as relevant. In the last two years we are seeing a high level of desire for property in the area for its fantastic wide waterways and convenient location, and that’s not just from the interstate buyers but from locals as well,” Mr Stafford said.

He said house prices in Bundall would continue to climb as neighbouring Surfers Paradise was regenerated ahead of the Brisbane Olympic Games in 2032.

In 2011, just 3.5 per cent of Mermaid Waters homes sold for $1 million-plus, and 17.7 per cent in Broadbeach Waters. In Bundall, the figure was 20.5 per cent.

49 Bramley Dr, Tallebudgera is on the market for $3.4 million

The data also showed a massive uptick in million dollar-plus sales in Gold Coast Hinterland suburbs, as lockdown-weary buyers prioritised space and lifestyle through 2020/21.

While the total number of sales in these acreage suburbs remained relatively low, the percentage of big-ticket transactions surged.

Last year’s top semi-rural performers were: Tallebudgera Valley (98.2% of sales, up from 15.4% in 2011); Currumbin Valley (91.7%, up from 9.1%); Tallebudgera (83.6%, up from 15.4%); Bonogin (71.7%, up from 4.4%); and Tallai (71.1%, up from 15.4%).