- The supply of new apartments on the Gold Coast continues to decline to new lows, according to the latest study from property consultant Urbis
- Based on the current sales rate of 450 units each quarter, the market will only have 4.2 months’ supply of apartments if no new projects are launched
- In the second quarter, 14 apartment complexes sold out, three of which were new launches, according to the Urbis research
- Owner-occupiers accounted for 56 per cent of purchases, Queensland investors 19 per cent, and interstate and investor accounted for 21 per cent
According to the latest analysis from property consultant Urbis, the supply of new units on the Gold Coast continues to fall to new lows.
Strong buyer demand for new apartments on the Gold Coast has pushed the current available supply to a seven-year low, according to the Urbis Gold Coast Apartment Essentials report for the second quarter of this year.
At the end of June, there were just 624 flats for sale, down from the previous low of 634 apartments in early 2014.
If no new projects are announced, the market will only have 4.2 months’ supply of apartments based on the current sales pace of 450 apartments each quarter.
New apartment sales during the first six months of this year totalled 1192, including a record first quarter. This is a 21 per cent increase over the 987 units sold in the full year of 2020.
According to the Urbis study, 14 apartment buildings sold out in the second quarter, three of which were new launches, with Urbis senior consultant Lynda Campbell noting the number of projects selling out within months of launching highlighted the strong demand.
“This comes off the back of a record 742 sales in the March quarter,” she said.
“While the numbers in the latest quarter failed to match the first three months of this year, it was still the second-highest quarterly result in five years.”
Urbis observed an imbalance of supply throughout the Gold Coast’s four major apartment areas as a result of the issue. From Runaway Bay to Hope Island, the North Shore precinct has 13.1 months of supply, whereas the Southern Beaches, from Mermaid Beach to Coolangatta, has just 2.1 months.
“Some precincts are now in major under supply, although we are aware of a number of larger projects currently in train that may be ready to fill this gap,” Ms Campbell said.
According to the Urbis study, another 1000 units might be put on the market in the following three to six months.
According to the REIQ, the market was also characterised by a large number of owner-occupiers and a shortage of rental supply, as seen by 0.6 per cent vacancy rates.
Owner-occupiers accounted for 56 per cent of purchases, Queensland investors 19 per cent, and interstate and investor accounted for 21 per cent.
The international border closures were also reflected in the latest figures, with only four per cent of purchasers coming from outside the country – a significant decrease from two years earlier, when international buyers made up 25 per cent of the market.
Despite strong demand for new apartments on the Gold Coast, the total weighted average price for all precincts decreased by $59,775 to $1.044 million in the June quarter.