SOUTHERN STATE BUYER DEMAND DESPITE THE CLOSED BORDER

The current COVID-19 climate is certainly having a fascinating knock-on effect for the Gold Coast property market.

The latest data from Domain’s quarterly House Price Report revealed the Gold Coast to be one of the strongest property markets in Queensland over the June quarter, with house price up 1.5 per cent. Annually, house prices are up 5 per cent.

Units had also performed relatively well, edging down by 0.3 per cent – a slight fall when compared to other unit markets across the eastern seaboard.

Queensland’s border may be closed to NSW, Victoria and ACT but that’s proving no obstacle for property hunters from the southern states, with reports of a surge in buyers snapping up homes sight unseen.

In recent weeks we have seen a boost in enquiries from people in Sydney, the ACT, and Melbourne, and we have seen some of these buyers buy properties sight unseen.

Some relied on the videos that we had online, others took up our offer for us to FaceTime them and walk through the properties, but they all bought sight unseen.

Pre COVID-19 we were already experiencing an increasing surge of people from south of the border relocating here to the Gold Coast.

However, COVID-19 has had a profound affect. Queensland has, to date, been able to manage our response in such a way that we have been incredibly fortunate not to have had the terrible consequences that other cities from around the world are experiencing.

Part of the reason COVID-19 has been spread so widely in many cities is because they are big, densely populated urban areas.

It makes the contagion spread so much more high-risk. What COVID-19 has done for so many people is it has forced them to reassess their future lifestyles.

They will not be travelling as much, they will be spending more time at home, and, in many cases, they don’t even have to work at the office.

Locally, people have reassessed their lifestyles. Many are moving to bigger homes, and others into smaller homes. Some are moving to acreage, and some are moving into apartments. There is a lot of repositioning of people, but the biggest trend has been the migrators from south of the border.

I believe we will find over this year and in years to come that the Gold Coast will become one of the shining lights of the country and with one of the healthiest property markets in the country.

Sure, we won’t escape some challenges that our economy will generate, but we will do so much better than most other places.