The 'under the radar' Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast suburbs by the beach, where the median price is cheaper than everywhere else

Did you hear? Property prices on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts have skyrocketed over the past few years. It’s a narrative that’s now as familiar as rising interest rates; told and then retold each time prices spiked higher, then higher again.

Where once the south-east Queensland coastal regions were an affordable and sunnier alternative to colder climes and expensive real estate, an unstoppable wave of sea-changers during the pandemic drove up prices at breakneck speed.

In September 2019, the Gold Coast’s median house price was $642,000 and the Sunshine Coast’s $610,000.

Now, the median price for a house has hit $945,000 on the Gold Coast and $970,000 on the Sunshine Coast; that’s at least $143,500 more than the median cost of a house in Brisbane, and edging closer to the median price of a house in Melbourne.

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Over the past five years, many of the biggest growth suburbs in the entire nation have been in these south-east Queensland coastal regions. The latest Domain House Price Report data shows half of the top 10 suburbs for five-year growth are located on either the Gold or Sunshine Coasts.

The number one suburb is Noosa Heads, where the median price for a unit has shot up 174.4 per cent, closely followed by Eumundi, also on the Sunshine Coast, where the median price for a house has grown by 160 per cent.

Other suburbs where prices have soared by massive amounts over the past five years include Paradise Point, Worongary and Clear Island Waters on the Gold Coast, and Buddina, Peregian Beach and Doonan on the Sunshine Coast.

Buying on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts has undoubtedly become harder – as has buying property just about anywhere in Australia – but the sea-change dream doesn’t have to be over if you know where to look.

New analysis of house price data from Domain has unearthed the suburbs where prices sit below the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast’s median house and unit prices.

Some are nearly $300,000 cheaper; some are are nearly $400,000 cheaper. Some are located on the beachside; others are set back from the ocean and into the hinterland.

There are 20 suburbs on the Sunshine Coast with a lower median house price than the overall region’s price of $950,000.

The most affordable is Nambour, an inland town with a local hospital and a high school attended by former prime minister Kevin Rudd. Its median house price is $685,000. It also has the most affordable median unit price, at $460,000 – nearly $200,000 less than the Sunshine Coast’s overall median unit price of $646,000.

But if being as close to the beach as possible is top of your list, the suburbs to zero in on are Warana and Currimundi – both located on the beachfront, they are far more affordable alternatives to other oceanfront suburbs like Noosa Heads (median price $2.2 million), Buddina (median price $1.85 million) and Peregian Beach (median price $1.6 million).

Both suburbs are close to each other, nestled along a stretch of beach between Caloundra and Mooloolaba. Eric Murray of Henzells Agency says their relative anonymity has helped keep prices in check compared with neighbouring suburbs.

BY NEGOTIATION

21 Croydon Avenue, Currimundi QLD 4551

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“Currimundi, as well as Battery Hill, which is just next door … they are essentially adjoining those very expensive beachside areas like Dicky Beach, Moffat Beach and Shelly Beach. They’re right on the border, yet they are so much more affordable,” he says.

“A lot of people look at Mooloolaba and Alexandra Headlands but they tend to drive down Nicklin Way and move past suburbs like Currimundi without even realising they’re here, or that they have so much to offer.

“Currimundi, especially, has exceptional value when you realise Currimundi Lake runs out to the ocean. It’s such a wonderful family destination – families hang out by the lake in the afternoons or walk to the patrolled surf beach.”

OFFERS OVER $1,950,000

30 Matilda Crescent, Battery Hill QLD 4551

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He is selling a brand new home at Battery Hill within walking distance of the surf beach, cafes and local parkland.

“This property is unique. It’s in an elevated position in an area where most of the houses are being renovated. A brand new build is unusual and the location is beautiful,” Murray says.

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Adam Budd of Ray White Kawana cites Warana and neighbouring Kawana as fantastic value compared to other suburbs further north.

“First-home buyers can come across and secure a property. Mums and dads can pick up a home that has been completely renovated and is still affordable,” he says.

Budd is taking 17 Coonang Crescent, Warana, to auction on February 21 and has had savvy renovators and developers circling since it hit the market, all intent on securing a property within walking distance of the beach.

SOLD - $910,000

17 Coonang Crescent, Warana QLD 4575

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On the Gold Coast, there are 22 suburbs that fall below the city’s median house price of $945,000. Geographically, the suburbs are a mix of the northern Gold Coast, hinterland areas and inland suburbs. Unsurprisingly, iconic beachfront suburbs like Burleigh Heads, Palm Beach and Mermaid Beach are priced well above the median.

There are a few suburbs, however, that hug the coastline and, for various reasons, have flown under the radar for a number of years, keeping them more affordable than other beachfront locations.

Coombabah, Labrador, Biggera Waters and Southport all fall well below the median house price, as does Surfers Paradise for units (the median price of a unit on the Gold Coast is $620,000).

The pick of the bunch, according to Mark Saveall of McGrath Surfers Paradise, is Labrador.

“Where else can you buy a house under one kilometre from the water for under $1 million?” he says. “You go to Mermaid Waters or Nobbys [beach] and they’re $2 million-plus. Labrador has grown exponentially but I believe there’s further growth to go.”

Labrador’s median unit price ($540,000) also falls below the Gold Coast’s median unit price of $620,000 but Saveall believes it’s the suburb’s houses that are offering the best deal around.

“Houses are the best value going around here. Dirt is a finite subject and Labrador has been earmarked as an area of growth,” he says.

$1,375,000 to $1,425,000

25 Turpin Road, Labrador QLD 4215

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“Labrador has flown under the radar for years. When I first started selling there people didn’t want to buy there because it had a bad rap, but people are now coming specifically looking to buy in Labrador because we have the new Gold Coast hospital, the Griffith University campus … they’re coming specifically to live here.”

He cites young families as his main clientele.

“They’re coming here because it’s such good value and also because of what’s on hand. There are really good schools in the area – public and private – the hospitals, universities … we’ve got doctors buying here and riding their electric bikes to work.”

He’s selling a two-bedroom beach cottage in the Chirn Park precinct of Labrador, asking for offers over $899,000, and says its location is particularly sought after.

Offers over $899,000

8 Chirn Lane, Labrador QLD 4215

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“That Chirn Park precinct – we’ve got 14 or 15 different coffee shops in that precinct – anything in that precinct is 10 per cent dearer than anywhere else in Labrador because of its proximity to the coffee shops and the water,” he says.

The house is within walking distance of the Broadwater.

The nearby suburb of Southport is the cheapest spot to buy a unit on the Gold Coast. With a median price of just $494,500, it is more than $100,000 less than the city-wide median of $620,000 and well below the national median unit price of $596,771.

Units with spectacular unobstructed views overlooking the Broadwater can be purchased for less than $600,000.

SOLD - $590,000

14B/114-116 Marine Parade, Southport QLD 4215

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