Herron Todd White in their May Month In Review newsletter had this to say about the Sunshine Coast Property Market.
The market on the Sunshine Coast is currently strong with agents reporting strong demand and limited supply. We are now seeing multiple offers and in some cases sale prices exceeding list prices, particularly for well presented dwellings along the coastal strip and to a lesser extent, dwellings in hinterland townships.
The unit market is improving however not at the same speed as single dwellings. Entry level units in small older complexes are currently outperforming larger more expensive units within larger holiday complexes, mainly due to the higher body corporate charges associated with the larger complexes.
Confidence in the higher end $1 million plus residential dwelling market is also improving for properties along the coastal strip or canal front and better quality rural residential properties.
The current low interest rate environment combined with the additional demand being generated by the new Sunshine Coast University Hospital is driving the market. Price growth over the past six months has been strong, particularly the southern end of the coast in and around the new hospital. Employment opportunities within the various medical professions are set to increase significantly as the new hospital continues to expand. This should see demand for housing improve further.
The Noosa or northern Sunshine Coast market has also shown strong growth recently, again more so for single dwellings compared to units. This market has historically been more volatile driven mainly by a lack of supply and strong demand by buyers from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Employment has always been an issue on the Sunshine Coast and historically the market strength corresponds with the strength of the construction and tourism industries. Both sectors have been performing well resulting in greater demand and therefore higher property prices. Affordability is always an issue and developers have been counteracting this problem with smaller lot sizes.
Investor interest from interstate appears to have slowed a little mainly due to banks introducing tighter lending policies. Future interest rate increases would likely have a similar impact in slowing the market.