Crazy Australian price rises: Bellevue Hill, Surfers Paradise chalk up massive gains in 90 days

Unit prices in Bellevue Hill have skyrocketed in the space of three months, tipping into the $2 million club for the first time – but agents say they are still a good buy.

Bellevue Hill now has Australia’s fifth-most expensive unit market, according to the latest Domain House Price Report. The suburb’s median unit price was $1.68 million in December last year but gained $320,000 in the 90 days to the end of March.

It still offers far better value for money than neighbouring suburbs like Rose Bay and Double Bay, says real estate agent Richard Faludi of Raine & Horne Double Bay.

“I sold a two-bedroom apartment in Double Bay towards the back end of last year: $5 million, about $50,000 per square metre, no [water] views,” he says.

“Whereas you can buy an apartment in Bellevue Hill for $25,000 to $30,000 per square metre, so that’s significantly less.”

Faludi attributes Bellevue Hill’s rapid price rises to more positive buyer sentiment following the RBA’s recent rate cut, as well as expectations that the rate-cut cycle will continue.

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3/15 Benelong Crescent, Bellevue Hill NSW 2023

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“People already factored [rate cuts] into their thinking, and that kind of spurred the market on,” he says.

Faludi expects the median unit price to continue increasing as buyers’ borrowing capacities increase with new rate cuts. 

“The eastern suburbs only go in one direction,” he says. “[The price] goes up and then gets a new benchmark, and then it stays at that level, and then it goes up again.”

Bellevue Hill was not the only suburb that posted massive price gains over the March quarter.

Median house prices in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast increased by $305,600 (10.6 per cent) to a record $3.2 million. Surfers Paradise and Mermaid Beach are the only Queensland suburbs with a median of $3 million or more.

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3/1 Blaxland Road, Bellevue Hill NSW 2023

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Local agent Katrina Keegan of Coastal says the growth is not surprising.

“New projects of all kinds have come into fruition and are settling a lot of the new beachfront stuff,” she says.

“Surfers Paradise always sees a high growth coming out of December, January and February. It’s always been picked as the number one time to buy and sell. There are more properties on the market than at any other time of the year in that first quarter, and there are also more transactions.”

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35 Southern Cross Drive, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217

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Central to the increased demand are buyers purchasing holiday homes in Surfers Paradise as a “cheaper” alternative to holiday rentals or resorts.

Keegan says this recent shift has had the most significant impact on market dynamics, citing strong sales in the $2 million to $4 million price bracket.

“You’re looking at what you’re paying per night in some of these apartments, and sometimes it is cheaper to buy a holiday home,” she says.

“This drives the competition up, and pushes prices up as well.”

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37 Southern Cross Drive, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217

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Steep price rises aside, Surfers Paradise is still better value for money than the Northern Beaches and Cronulla Beach in Sydney, Keegan says.

“You wouldn’t even scratch the surface of what you could buy [in Sydney] compared to what you can buy [in Surfers Paradise],” she says. 

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44 New Dapto Road, Wollongong NSW 2500

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As prices continue to grow across the nation, more and more suburbs are achieving the $1 million median, including outer-city suburbs and towns once known for being affordable.

House prices in Wollongong, NSW, have reached $1 million after chalking up $92,500 growth in three months.

This milestone was a long time coming, says local agent Jake O’Connor of The Agency Illawarra..

“We’ve seen some extraordinary prices down here, especially along the waterfront,” he says.

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“We’ve certainly attracted interest from buyers out of the area … and there are not many houses left, not many lots of land left to rebuild.” 

In the last few years, O’Connor has seen an influx of Sydneysiders looking for an affordable sea change.

“Our most competitive sales are your younger family,  your second-home-buyer couples who have been looking to upsize,” he says.

O’Connor says a budget of $1 million is the “bare minimum” required to purchase a house in Wollongong today. 

“You’re looking at older homes, three bedrooms, one bathroom, double lock-up garage or an extra bathroom in there somewhere, and they might need renovating, or they might need a little bit of work,” he says.