A gcmnews real estate feature
THE Sunshine Coast’s housing market is set to break through the $1 million median value mark as interstate migration fuels an unprecedented surge in demand, positioning the region as Queensland’s latest property hotspot.
Over the past year, property prices in the region have outpaced even the most robust metropolitan markets. On the Sunshine Coast house values were up 8 per cent year on year to $990,406 according to PropTrack data in June. Unit prices across the region were also up 8 per cent to $720,659 in the same period.
PropTrack senior economist, Paul Ryan, said the data showed similar trends across large regional cities, albeit at different stages in the property cycle. “We have seen regional property prices increase 55 per cent since the onset of the pandemic,” he said. The region remains top of the pops for interstate migration, with the Sunshine Coast the most popular destination (16 per cent) of all regional movers.
The next closest was the Gold Coast (9 per cent). While fewer people moved to the regions after pandemic lockdowns were lifted, the number of people relocating from a capital to a regional area is now sitting 20 per cent higher than prior to the pandemic, the report found. About two thirds of people relocating from cities to the regions over the 12 months to March 2024 came from Sydney, while about 30 per cent came from Melbourne.
Commonwealth Bank Executive General Manager Regional and Agribusiness Banking Paul Fowler said the Sunshine Coast offered a wonderful lifestyle experience and is one of Queensland’s fastest growing economies.
“A skilled and diverse labour supply is one of the most critical inputs for any economy and Sunshine Coast businesses across a wide range of sectors are taking advantage of the growth in people coming to the area, moving at pace to explore new and innovative opportunities,” Mr Fowler said.
Regional Australia Institute chief executive Liz Ritchie said the regional lifestyle was proving highly desirable. “With high house prices and cost-of living pressures biting, many people are realising the regions can offer the lifestyle they want and the jobs they’re after, minus big city problems like long commute times, tolls and traffic,” she said.
