Last week the REIQ (Real Estate Institute of Queensland) released their quarterly market report, which covers the June 2016 quarter; and the Sunshine Coast residential market continued to perform strongly throughout the traditionally slower months, boding very positively for the spring and summer quarters ahead.
In the June quarter, the Sunshine Coast median house market added one per cent to value to arrive at a June median of $525,000. The annual median sale price of $515,000 is 4.7 per cent higher than this time last year, and 13.2 per cent higher than five years ago. House buyers in the region are primarily families and couples downsizing, first home buyers and people relocating from southern states; and investors are returning to the market after the general election. The largest activity in the house market remains in the price range between $500K-$1million.
UNIT market performance is dependent on location and quality. Units developed with an owner-occupied target market are performing well, whilst holiday units with large body corporate fees are struggling. The largest sales activity in the region is between $350K-$500K. The unit market has softened slowly to $365,000; however, the annual median price of $370,000 remains 5.7 per cent higher than five years ago, when it was $350,000.
Property commentators and leading analysts are extremely optimistic about the future health of the Sunshine Coast property market, predicting continuing strong growth on the back of the large number of infrastructure projects in the region, that have either commenced or are poised to commence. These include: the $3-billion-dollar Harmony development in Palmview, and the $5-billion-dollar city of Aura project in Caloundra South.
Other significant projects creating jobs, injecting millions of dollars into the economy and creating a surge in housing demand, include: the $1.87 billion Sunshine Coast University hospital, the upgrade of the highway from Brisbane to Gympie (with estimated budget of $409 million), SunCentral in Maroochydore, Sunshine Coast Light Rail, and the rejuvenation of Caloundra CBD.
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