Why the rise of the Sunshine Coast's prestige market is only just beginning
Once a humble home for barefoot surfers and retirees seeking sand in their golden years, the Sunshine Coast is now one of Australia’s most prized playgrounds for prestige buyers, with property prices swelling by up to 46 per cent in 12 months across its most sought-after postcodes.
Fuelled by exclusivity, driven by development restrictions along the coastline and augmented by the remote working wave – the relaxed region just a couple of hours north of Brisbane is also becoming a mecca for cashed-up tech wizards with nine key suburbs now members of the million-dollar-plus club for median house prices.
It’s a region that also obliterated the Queensland house price record with the $34 million sale of a Sunshine Beach trophy home at 17 Webb Road in June this year – a sale that came hot on the heels of the $14 million transaction of 8 Noosa Court, Noosa Heads, a three-bedroom penthouse that eclipsed the previous Sunshine Coast apartment record by $5 million.
Both sales were handled by Tom Offermann, of the eponymous real estate firm.
While the quiet beachside strip still lacks the grandeur of Sydney’s Darling Point or the overwhelming wealth of Melbourne’s Toorak, property experts say the unstoppable wave of buyer demand is paving the way for an unprecedented growth cycle.
“Our buyer base was traditionally wealthy, self-funded retirees, but now we’re seeing this massive influx of young, financially capable families who are picking up properties in A-grade positions, and we’re seeing a lot of younger wealth that’s coming out of IT, finance and tech that’s tapping into new lifestyle opportunities [off the back of COVID-19]. So, we’re right at the beginning,” Adrian Reed of Noosa’s Reed and Co Estate Agents said.
“The abundance of nature, shopping, the beaches and the prestige amenity that is afforded to us is pretty desirable … and it’s all limited stock, so there’s going to be [further] price increases. In fact, we’re probably in what appears to be the early stages of a fairly significant growth cycle.
“With all those micro-markets like Byron Bay or Portsea, there’s a number of factors you have to achieve, and they are that you have to be easily accessible and offer a world-class experience, and Noosa obviously ticks that box. It’s in close proximity to an international airport and has wonderful food, rich national assets and beautiful river systems, and it’s flanked by world heritage assets. It’s a pretty special part of the world.”
Those compelling attributes, coupled with insatiable buyer appetite, led to extraordinary annual house price growth in Mooloolaba, Buddina, Doonan, Sunrise Beach and Minyana, according to the latest Domain House Price Report.
Of those, Minyana topped the list after a 46.7 per cent jump shot median house prices to $1.375 million.
House prices in the region’s most exclusive suburb, Sunshine Beach, also rose by 27.1 per cent to reach an eye-watering $2.2 million.
These gargantuan leaps are further bolstered by sky-high auction clearance rates, Offermann said, with days on market also slashed to a matter of hours in some exceptional sales.
“There are a lot more buyers than there are sellers, and so there’s a substantial backlog of people that are intending to relocate to the area or invest, and they are not willing to do so until they are able to cross the borders, so we expect that 2021 right through to the end of 2022 is going to be a very buoyant market for the Sunshine Coast,” Offermann said.
“We could absolutely see the same level of growth that we already saw [over the past 18 months], and it’s all supply and demand. We just don’t have the opportunity to create new stock, and what’s holding back buyers as well is waiting for a place in a school while others are selling property, and the vast majority are waiting for the borders to open.
“Underpinning their decisions [to move here] is the favourable weather year-round, the reserved environmental values … and the lifestyle.
“The Sunshine Coast has always had a history of leading the prestige markets outside of the key locations like Sydney Harbour … and the pandemic has fuelled that growth as has low interest rates.”
That highly-combustible fuel is expected to ignite countless multimillion-dollar deals over the spring selling season, with one jaw-dropping four-bedroom estate at 1/1-7 Bayview Road, Noosa Heads, tipped to draw buyer interest from across the globe at the highly-anticipated auction on October 17 through Chris Miller of Tom Offermann Real Estate.
Nearby, the four-bedroom home at 41 Picture Point Crescent, Noosa Heads, showcases spectacular sunset views and is nestled into the north-facing side of Laguna Hill. It’s going under the hammer on October 9 through Lisa Hornsby of Dowling Neylan.
Just a short stroll away, an immaculate four-bedroom mini-mansion on a 1.62-hectare block at 10 Frying Pan Track, Noosa North Shore, is already fielding offers thanks to the scale and location, co-selling agent Mr Reed said.
“This one has a price guide of $7 million … and It’s more akin to a resort. We’ve been inundated with inquiries from southern and local Brisbane buyers looking for a country retreat,” he said.
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