The Queensland hinterland hotspots prestige buyers need to watch
The sea-change wave that caused house prices to swell by up to 80 per cent across south-east Queensland’s coastal pockets last year is spreading out to the region’s prestige hinterland, sparking voracious growth in once-overlooked suburbs.
Those key acreage neighbourhoods that hug the snakelike shoreline from the Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast are now teetering on the edge of a real estate renaissance, experts say, with prestige property prices tipped to reach new heights this year.
Fig Tree Pocket and Pullenvale near Brisbane, Cooroy Mountain and Yandina Creek on the Sunshine Coast, and Currumbin and Tallebudgera Valley on the Gold Coast are just some suburbs poised to skyrocket in 2022.
Others have already done so, such as Tallai in the Gold Coast hinterland, whose property price jumped 41.9 per cent last year to $1.28 million.
The Sunshine Coast acreage pocket of Doonan – north of Yandina – also registered a 38.4 per cent jump to $1,487,500, according to the latest Domain House Price Report.
Just 13 minutes away by car, in the exclusive seaside suburb of Sunshine Beach, median house prices rose to a record-shattering $2,999,950 – a fact that’s not lost on savvy prestige buyers who now see the south-east Queensland hinterland as the perfect place in which to pour their property dollars.
Fig Tree Pocket is already reaping the rewards of that acreage renaissance, says McGrath Paddington agent Alex Jordan, with house prices hurtling north by 30.1 per cent last year to $1.55 million.
“If I was investing in acreage, Fig Tree Pocket would be one of the best Brisbane suburbs to do it,” he says.
“It’s one of the closest to the CBD in terms of proximity, but if you want that acreage lifestyle then you’ve got big blocks of land and lots of separation between you and the neighbours.
“There’s also Brookfield and Pullenvale,” Jordan adds.
“They are beautiful suburbs with green, lush rolling green hills. Pullenvale is 15 kilometres as the crow flies to the city.
“Those acreage suburbs were really lagging behind in growth for many, many years … but that market has come back.
“COVID created that scenario and buyers decided that, if they don’t have to go into work five days a week, [they can] live where their kids can run around.
“We saw more than 20 per cent growth in the last calendar year for that area and that’s unprecedented … but these acreage spots are still so undervalued and interstate buyers particularly are surprised that you can get something within 20 kilometres from the city in Brisbane that feels about 100 kilometres away.”
The Domain report showed that house prices in Pullenvale rose by a record-setting 25.4 per cent to $1.6 million last year, which remains a steal compared to Brisbane’s priciest blue-chip suburb of New Farm – where house prices jumped 30.7 per cent to reach a record median of $2.15 million.
On the Sunshine Coast, house prices in the seaside suburb of Minyama have soared by 82 per cent to $1.815 million, allowing some locals to cash in on the red-hot seaside market and gain a hinterland mansion on a sprawling lot for a fraction of the price, says Tom Offermann, of the eponymous real estate firm.
The uptick in acreage demand led to one unnamed Cooroy Mountain Road property recently selling for $9.5 million – setting a new house price record for the hinterland region, he says.
“This is an area that we describe as the golden triangle, formed by a line between Noosa and Eumundi and then out to Cooroy, where you can get to the Noosa beaches within 10 to 15 minutes – all on bitumen roads,” Offermann says.
“You have the advantage of being near beautiful country towns like Eumundi … but if you want to go out to dinner in Noosa it can be five minutes away from where you live.
“So I think this will propel prices there … it has a strong future.”
Belle Property Noosa and Coolum agent Sarah Sinclair concurs, saying young families in their 30s are nabbing the lion’s share of prestige acreage homes.
“Without a doubt, this is because of the shift in people’s thinking since COVID,” she says. “There’s a need to be self-sufficient … but I certainly think buyers are also starting to feel outpriced in the suburban beach areas.
“Yandina Creek is a place to watch … and the other one that will continue to be strong is Doonan thanks to its proximity to Noosa.”
On the Gold Coast, local buyers have been quick to pounce on still relatively affordable luxury hideaways, says John Fischer of PRD Real Estate Burleigh Heads, with sales in suburbs such as Tallebudgera Valley and Currumbin Valley achieving jaw-dropping prices in the last year.
“The acreage market has had a massive run in the last year – we sold one for $5 million at 757 Tallebudgera Creek Road, Tallebudgera Valley, [in March last year] and that was a record-setter,” he said.
“Currumbin Valley is where I would invest but also Benogin and Tallebudgera Valley. They are at the highest price point [they’ve ever been right now] and they 100 per cent have room to grow.”
Top 3 QLD hinterland homes
28-30 Carnarvon Court Yandina Creek
This architect-designed luxury home on an 8065-square-metre block is ensconced in manicured gardens.
The sprawling property also features a studio apartment, bushland views and a heated plunge pool, and is close to schools and Coolum Beach.
Belle Property Noosa and Coolum’s Sarah Sinclair is selling the home with a guide of $3.2 million.
2/9 Koombahla Drive Tallebudgera
A resort-style acreage estate doesn’t get much better than this 7972-square-metre block.
The house has a pristine swimming pool on the first floor, a formal lounge room with a fireplace, plus a spa, a guest retreat (with its own pool) and a professional office.
John Fischer from PRD Real Estate Burleigh Heads is selling the home with a guide of over $5.5 million.
5 Wybelenna Street Brookfield
This gargantuan 19,100-square-metre resort-style estate sits close to Brisbane’s city centre.
With input from Husband Architects, its features include a self-contained villa, an Argentinian-inspired barbecue pavilion, classic clay tennis court, mini rugby field and a pool and spa.
Ray White New Farm’s Tom Lyne is selling the home with a guide of $7 million.
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