With the significant impact on tourism from the pandemic, it seems a little surreal that a holiday location proved to be the top house performer over the June quarter.
However, that is the situation on the Sunshine Coast where the Noosa median house price increased by 1.9 per cent over the period and the wider region reported growth of
1.7 per cent.
The super low volume of listings is helping to underpin its housing market, but there has also been a huge influx of southern buyers keen to purchase sight unseen because
of persistent border closures.
But it’s not just the house market that is firing, so is the coast’s unit and land markets where demand is strong but supply is low.
The region’s rental market is also starting to strain from solid tenant demand and an undersupply of properties, which has pushed the vacancy rate to 1.9 per cent and
resulted in rents starting to rise.
Upgrading the Peregian Beach Boardwalk is just one of the local projects to be funded with the Queensland Government’s $50 million Unite and Recover
Community Stimulus Package.
“Throughout the Sunshine Coast Regional Council and Noosa Shire Council areas, 18 projects are receiving $8.81 million which the councils estimate will create or support
more than 680 local jobs,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
“This package builds on the $50 million allocated to the 12 SEQ councils through the COVID Works for Queensland program to make $100 million worth of
job-creating projects aimed at helping the region unite and recover from the impacts of the global pandemic.”
Sunshine Coast Regional Council Mayor Mark Jamieson thanked the Queensland Government for the initiative.
“It has been a particularly tough time and these projects are designed to create jobs and give the local economy a much-needed boost,” Mayor Jamieson said.
“We are ready to get shovels in the ground as soon as possible to make sure the benefits are delivered to the community sooner.”
Some of the new projects include:
• Boreen Point Campground Upgrades – upgrades to enhance the facilities and improve tourist experience, valued at $410,000.
• Peregian Beach Boardwalk Upgrade – upgrade to boardwalk north of Lifeguard Tower 57, valued at $230,000.
Despite the Sunshine Coast’s status as a tourism location, increased median house prices made it the strongest property market in the
State at present.
The June quarter saw the Sunshine Coast’s median house price increase by 1.7 per cent, while Noosa’s was even higher, up by 1.9
per cent. The median house price for the Sunshine Coast local government area is now $605,000 and in Noosa it’s nearly $840,000.
The region is no doubt benefitting from it being a domestic holiday location with an influx of South East Queenslanders taking place once
travel restrictions eased.
REIQ Sunshine Coast zone chair Matt Diesel said the low volume of listings, along with increased demand for property from local and
interstate buyers, was underpinning the house market.
He said the “ridiculously low” stock levels just aren’t in proportion to the number of buyers in the market.
One of the main impacts from the pandemic has been a huge increase in the number of buyers and enquiries from interstate, he said.
Enquiries are coming from Melbourne as well as from across New South Wales, with a record number resorting to buying sight unseen
after having a virtual tour of property.
Mr Diesel said he would normally only have a handful of such sales every year.
However, now, nearly every second property has an interstate buyer who has either made an enquiry or an offer.
He said many interstate buyers were keen to relocate sooner rather than later, with plenty also factoring quarantine into their buying decisions.
Lifestyle and housing affordability factors were part of their decision-making with some buyers who were locked out of southern cities because of high prices seeing they can realise their dreams of home ownership on the Sunshine Coast.
Buyers are also attracted to the Sunshine Coast because of their ability to retain their southern jobs and incomes by working from home and then flying down to Sydney or Melbourne when needed as soon as some semblance of normality returns.
Whereas unit markets in other regional locations are bearing the brunt of the pandemic, the situation seems to be reversed on the Sunshine Coast.
The median unit price has increased by 1.2 per cent over the June quarter and is up an impressive 3.8 per cent in Noosa.
Similar to its housing market, the low volume of listings is supporting the unit market with demand generally out-stripping supply. The
volume of unit sales on the Sunshine Coast has fallen by more than 50 per cent compared to the previous quarter.
The HomeBuilder scheme is also doing its job with buyer demand for vacant land high over recent months.
Mr Diesel said land was “the flavour of the month” which is saying something when the region’s house and unit markets are performing
so strongly.
He said he had never seen such strong demand for land in the region.
Similar to other parts of the State, the low volume of property listings generally does not appear to be changing anytime soon.
