Opinion: Broadbeach Gold Coast Has Strong Drawing Power

The Beach Apartments at Broadbeach opened in 2014 with the launch of 40 apartments with a value of $20 million already sold.

Broadbeach has been an attractive area for buyers and renters for many years. It is located on the beach and right next to Surfers Paradise. It is also home to Jupiters Casino, Pacific Fair Shopping Centre and the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Colliers International representative Peter Chittenden believes it is a turning point in the Gold Coast apartment market.

“The Beach offers the sort of combination that many buyers look for, headlined by a great location, value for money, with a quality developer and builder profile and a reasonable expectation for an up-side when the project is finished.” he said.

“The Gold Coast has an interesting history, it’s been the location for lots of activity since the 1880’s when the then Queensland Governor built one of the first holiday homes in the area. The 1930’s saw quick growth when cars became more common and from around the 1940’s the term ‘Gold Coast’ started to come into common use and the growth trend continued strongly after the Second World War. In the 1960’s high-rise holiday apartments made a lasting impression on the area, as did the big changes to the skyline in the 1980’s with the Japanese lead investment boom along with the opening of the areas well-known and legendary theme parks.”

Since the 1980s investment and development in the Gold Coasts high rise and apartment sector has been strong and consistent.

Jupiters was the first casino in Queensland when it opened in 1986 while Q1 in Surfers Paradise is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere.

“Among interstate buyers, Broadbeach already has a well established reputation as the Gold Coast’s premier apartment location- given the suburb’s proximity to the beach, the new light rail network and surrounding lifestyle amenities. In combination it all comes together to deliver a lifestyle offer that is clearly very appealing. The quality of apartments like The Beach has improved in leaps and bounds to accommodate a more demanding and design, quality driven buyer. It’s a trend that developers and their architects and builders are aware of and are responding to with some really appealing product,” said Chittenden.

The Gold Coast is Australia’s sixth largest city. Including the Tweed it is home to more than 605 000 people with a five year growth rate of around 11.2%.

Chittenden says that growth is predicted to rise over the next three years and the weak Australian dollar means tourism will continue strongly. He believes that the Gold Coast is an undervalued market because it is the last area to feel the property boom that has hit Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The Beach Apartments will have almost 70% of their 219 apartment’s featuring ocean views. One bedroom apartments will start from $330 000.

Tony Holland, Colliers International local director of projects says “the key appeal of the apartments to date have been the superb location, the amazing views and the exceptional value on offer, with 2-bedroom apartments starting at $532,000. The apartments are also of a good size in a range of 60-90sqm.”

With vacancy rates at 1.4%, rents are already strong in Broadbeach, and aligned with the appeal of the central location – The Beach Apartments represents a sought after investment opportunity in a popular price range.”

Jupiters Casino and Pacific Fair Shopping Centre are currently undergoing a $670 million redevelopment and both properties will be within walking distance of the apartments.

The Beach Apartments are being developed by joint venture partners Anthony Moreton Group and Pryde Group, with Brookfield Multiplex as Development Managers and Builder.

DBI Design are the project architects, their past projects have included the well-known Mirage Resorts at Southport and Port Douglas and more recently high-profile projects include Soul, Q1 and Oracle.

CEO of Anthony Moreton Group Tony Hazell says local Gold Coast residents looking to downsize and enjoy the Broadbeach lifestyle have also been attracted by the two year settlement which gives them time to plan for their next move.

“Over the last 2-3 years there has been a decline in stock of new beachside apartments, and this has begun to put upward pressure on values and pricing. Even if we see a position where some of the activity of the last 18 months starts to slow in Sydney and Melbourne, in those markets prices are not going to retreat, current price benchmarks are set to remain and continue to increase and so buyers will be looking further afield.”

On the Gold Coast the emerging demand appears to indicate that buyers recognise that the market is now in an upward cycle. There are strong expectations that by the time The Beach project is due to settle in early 2017, the value of new property will very likely have improved significantly from where we are today.”

The building will feature a variety of DBI designed facilities including a podium level outdoor pool and BBQ, Zen-garden, Residents Lounge, a gymnasium and ground floor retail, for interstate and local investors there will also be access to on-site management.