News
Apartments Outpace Houses on Price Growth
April 14 2023
The apartment market has registered a robust quarter driven by a desire for convenience, space, security and all-round low-maintenance living.
Apartments are starting to gain favour among buyers with attached dwellings outperforming free-standing homes on price growth.
Quarterly data released by Core Logic shows that in the three months to the end of March, apartments registered median price growth of 2.4 per cent, compared with 0.4 per cent for houses.
Annual figures paint an even clearer picture, with the median apartment price rising 16.3 per cent in the 12 months to the end of March, surpassing house price growth of 10.9 per cent.
While the median house price on the Gold Coast dropped slightly over the past quarter from $950,000 to $947,250, apartments marched in the opposite direction rising from $614,500 to a high of $620,000.
It is unusual for apartments to outpace houses when it comes to price growth, but
Kollosche managing director Michael Kollosche says lifestyle factors and security are driving the current trend.
“Most of the new developments that we are seeing are vertical communities that offer first-class amenities, equal to what you would find in fitness recovery centres,” Michael says.
“More buyers are opting for this low-maintenance way of living, especially empty- nesters.
“A large number of buyers are also moving to apartment buildings for security purposes, given the increased rate of youth crime through the suburbs, which has been left unchecked.”
Michael says a limited number of builders in the market has tightened the supply of new apartments, which is not keeping up with demand.
“All these things have resulted in creating a perfect storm of heightened demand, limited supply and increased capital gains.”
Kollosche is experiencing heightened demand for both second-hand and off-the-plan residential apartments and has made a number of sales in recent weeks, including 2/1285 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach, sold for $2,325,000 by agent Troy Dowker. Duncan Longmore sold an apartment in the Versace building and Carlie Mills one in the ‘Soul’ building in Surfers Paradise for undisclosed prices. 902/112 The Esplanade, Burleigh Heads, in the newly completed ‘Natura’ building, was sold for $4,000,000 by Eoghan Murphy and Andrew Ramsay, while Andrew and Simon Worthington have sold a spate of units off-the-plan in ‘Eternity’, a new building to rise at 14-18 Mary Street in Broadbeach.
Across the quarter, Kollosche made seven of the top 10 apartment sales on the Gold Coast with 4201/272 Hedges Avenue in Mermaid Beach changing hands for $12,000,000 to become the largest overall property sale in the state for 2023.
It was followed by the $8,050,000 sale of a three-bedroom Main Beach apartment in the boutique ‘Sea’ building at 4/3531-3533 Main Beach Parade, designed by Bayden Goddard and featuring only seven units.
If you are seeking to capitalise on the buoyant apartment market, reach out to an experienced Kollosche agent for an honest appraisal of your property.
