Gold Coast PROPERTY

Grandstand views of Quiksilver Pro 2011, Snapper Rocks, Gold Coast

Residents at Ciel Rainbow Bay will be the envy of the world over upcoming weeks as they take to their balconies with family and friends to enjoy private grandstand views of pro surfers carving the waves at the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro.

Only three balconies will be vacant at the HIA award-winning development, since 6 of the 9 have already sold, and keys to the remaining two bedroom plus study apartments are ready and waiting for discerning buyers seeking high-end residential living.

Agent Chris Manning invites prospective owners to join him on one of the remaining balconies during the international surfing events to see just how much more the Ciel lifestyle offers, compared to similarly-priced Gold Coast apartments.

“Rainbow Bay, like Byron Bay and Noosa, is one of the few true north-facing beaches on the Eastern Seaboard,” says Chris. “Ciel apartments are also north-facing, which ensures sunshine year-round and shelter from the prevailing southerlies. And with our new prices starting at only $895,000…well, try and beat that–and in an award winning building.”

There are only nine apartments in the entire Ciel complex and one apartment per floor. Every apartment has private lift access to maximise privacy.

Chris says most Ciel apartments have views over Snapper Rocks, Rainbow Bay and the entire Gold Coast. “One of the remaining apartments, the podium level, not only has enough of a view to check out the surf from your living room, but is also surrounded in tropical gardens–ideal for those who still have a green-thumb and enjoying catching a wave. When you wake up in the morning at Ciel, you only have to walk a few metres to check the surf. Most likely, the best waves will be right on your doorstep.”

Ciel is open for inspection daily from 10am -11am QLD or by private appointment.

Call Chris Manning on (07) 5536 5366 or 0400 752 421 or go to http://cielrainbowbay.com.au/docs/factsheet_cielwholefloor.pdf

NEWSFLASH!

NEW prices at Nirvana @ Kirra Beach have just been released.

This residential tower overlooking Kirra beach, with views to Surfers Paradise and beyond, went into receivership last year. The new pricing has just been released with prices discounted around 30% from the original pricing.

The managing firm has decided not to auction the properties, instead inviting a select group of real estate agents to sell off the remaining apartments via private treaty.

INSPECTIONS ARE AVAILABLE NOW!

For your chance to pick up a Gold Coast bargain, further information can be obtained by calling the local agents and southern Gold Coast specialists on tel: (07) 5535 9990, clicking on the link here or email nirvana@bordersrealty.com.au

1 in 20 year Receivers’ sell down prices!

Nirvana by the Sea is a luxury beachfront tower with spectacular north facing aspects. The quality and fit-out of the apartments exceeds expectations, there is no comparison currently on the market.

There has not been an opportunity to buy in a building of this quality at Receivers’ sell down prices for at least 20 years on the Gold Coast. And we are not sure you ever will again…

Nirvana by the Sea features:

- 1 Bedroom + Study

- 2 Bedroom

-3 Bedroom + Study

- Sub-Penthouses

- Penthouse

- Teppanyaki BBQ Area

- North Facing

- Residents Club Lounge

- 25m Lap Pool

- Theatre

- Business Centre

A REPORT on the sub $600,000 beachside new apartment market has found that it could be near extinction on the Gold Coast.

Aubrey Development and Marketing Consultants’ Market Findings for August 2010 reveals just six apartments remain for sale in this price range in the beachside suburbs between Tweed Heads and Main Beach.

Author David Aubrey said reports of an apartment oversupply were misleading because they referred to units priced over $700,000.

“This has been seized upon and portrayed as the entire Gold Coast new apartment market being in oversupply,” he said.

“There is next to no new product available in the beachside suburbs priced below $600,000 and no major projects planned to be released in 2010/11 except for stage two at Pavilions Palm Beach, following a near sellout of its first stage.

“This lack of supply shows no sign of abating in the medium term due to restrictive lending policies by banks and cautious approaches of the valuation industry and a general lender/valuer caucus of negativity.

“The end of the sub $600,000 new investment unit is nigh.”

The 2008 Market Findings report predicted a supply issue when 70 units were for sale in the sub $500,000 bracket across 32 projects. The latest report is based on 22 projects with 2114 units.

The five remaining sub $600,000 apartments are within the first stage of Pavilions (info@pavilionspalmbeach.com) and one last new 2-bed, 2-bath Eden apartment in Rainbow Bay priced at $595,000 (edenciel@bigpond.com)

Mr Aubrey said investors wanted new apartments due to their depreciation benefits and lower body corporate costs.

House prices around the future Gold Coast light rail track are set to soar, with predictions some property values could jump $100,000 in the next 12 months.

Industry sources say developers have started to circle properties along the route and homeowners are looking to sell when the price is right.

There is evidence of housing price booms in the United States when light rail systems have been built.

According to a recent Tourism and Transport Forum paper, house prices within 800m of the new light rail system in St Louis, Missouri, enjoyed a 32 per cent premium and the cost of track-side apartments in Santa Clara, California, soared 45 per cent.

Rapid Transit System business advisory member Peter Trathen said he could see some house prices on Queen Street and Olsen Avenue jumping as much as $100,000 in the next 12 months as developers started to move in.

Mr Trathen said clever developers were already planning ahead and getting ready to buy up land along the track route.

“If you amalgamate land and put it to a development the value will be huge,” he said.

“There are massive opportunities in terms of development.”

Mr Trathen said developers were all waiting on the market to improve and when it did there would be a big rush.

Urban Development Institute of Australia senior vice-president Steve Harrison said major Queensland property developers were already scouting for opportunities around Broadbeach.

Smart players in the industry were making plans and investing.

“There’s been a lot of movement around Broadbeach,” he said.

There would be a premium on house prices along the light rail route as developers snapped up properties early for long-term plans.

Mr Harrison said once one developer put money behind a project along the route others would ‘pull their finger out’.

Real Estate Industry Queensland Gold Coast chairman John Newlands said house prices would start to rise around the light rail track but not dramatically.

“I don’t think you’ll see house prices jump from $300,000 to $400,000 overnight,” he said.

“I think you’ll see a gradual 10 per cent growth in prices.”

Queen Street resident Steven Gray said he thought prices would go the other way so was pleased to hear of a potential price rise.

“I’ve been here for a long time,” he said. “It’s a noisy street, so if the money was right I’d sell … “

Did we witness the steal of the decade today? Eat your heart out Robin Hood!

The latest auction of mortgagee in possession properties in Kirra sold quickly today thanks to a mysterious buyer.

The bearded gentlemen, dressed more like a posh English farmer straight off the paddock than a local, started off the voting at Versace by capturing the 40-unit Kirra on The Beach, 92 Musgrave St, for an absolute song at $8.6 million, cementing Ray White Surfers Paradise as the auction house where to purchase properties at dirt-cheap bargain prices.

The bearded gentleman had only just begun though. He bought the adjoining 5 townhouses to Kirra On The Beach at just over $2 million, which was a fair market price. But his next purchase of a house adjoining the townhouses was virtually given to him. So cheap it bordered on criminal. The beautiful house sitting on 504 SQM was really only bid for by the bearded gentleman, the other bidders knowing they just weren’t in the same league, or shared his same hunger, so his last bid was a paltry $900,000. Upon checking with the backroom, they told him if he made that $1 million he could have it. He did. He got it. No one else bothered to counteroffer. This same property was purchased a few years back at more than double what he paid for it. A bidder next to me commented that surely this property would’ve fetched more money being sold by regular private treaty. I was too busy counting the cash in my wallet hoping I could put in a bid myself.

At this time of writing, the bearded gentleman’s still sitting here nodding at the auctioneer like one of those toy dogs with the spring-loaded necks you see in cars, Ray White salesmen crowding around him like flies on a horse’s backside wanting to shake his hand, wanting, hoping to get a piece of the action from the new King in Kirra.

Now is the time to buy a luxury apartment on the Gold Coast.

The latest Midwood Queensland Investment Report for the February quarter shows there are more than 1000 medium and high-rise apartments for sale on the Gold Coast, and with just 58 sales in this category since December, it has never been a better time to get into the luxury market and negotiate a sweet deal.

Midwood Report author Bill Morris said the number of apartments on the market equated to two and a half years’ worth of stock, allowing prospectors and buyers to shop around for a good deal.

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Mr Morris said prices for new luxury apartments had fallen by as much as 20 per cent in the past year.

“Anyone looking at buying an apartment in the $600,000 to $3 million price range has a lot of room to negotiate a good deal at the moment,” said Mr Morris.

“The amount (of stock) on the market is partly due to the amount of residual stock in projects that have gone into receivership, such as Freshwater Point in Broadbeach and Southport Central.”

And there was better news for those who have the means to pay in cash, with an even greater discount possible, according to Mr Morris.

“If you’ve got the cash you could walk in and pay 30 per cent less than the current asking prices, which have already been discounted,” he said.

Mr Morris predicts prices on luxury apartments will continue to drop for up to two more years, or until the supply runs out.

Mr Morris said the huge number of terminated contracts at Coast Marine Parade in Labrador and Southport Central III in Southport had contributed to the lousy sales figures for new high-rise apartments for the February quarter.

Cattleman Evan Richards and wife Sally believe they achieved ‘good value’ when they purchased a three-bedroom, 400sqm apartment with Broadwater views and a 15m marine berth at Stockland development Allisee in Hollywell earlier this year for $1.85 million.

“Stockland make quality apartments and I think this is a one-of-a-kind apartment, the outlook is sensational, it’s close to the M1 and in a growth area full of new infrastructure,” said Mr Richards.

“It’s a safe and secure place to come home to after a day managing 300 head of cattle.”

Article courtesy of the knowledgeable Bill Morris @ Midwood Australia. Visit him @ The Midwood Report

THE GFC-inspired property slowdown has filtered through to Gold Coast residential land values which have dropped an average 5 per cent since they were last measured in 2007.

Dry suburbs generally fared better than waterfront areas which took hits of up to 29 per cent, according to a State Government report released yesterday.

The Property Market Movement for the 2010 Valuation reveals that plummeting unimproved values in prestige suburbs like Mermaid Beach (-29 per cent), Surfers Paradise (-18 per cent), Paradise Point (-15 per cent), Hollywell (-14 per cent) and Runaway Bay (-13 per cent) contributed to the city’s overall negative result.

Not a surprising outcome given that the valuations are based on sales during the period and that the GFC hit the Coast’s well-heeled suburbs hard in terms of sales volumes and prices.

But ratepayers whose land values have fallen should not hold out hope for a significantly lower rates bill.

Gold Coast City Council budget boss Eddy Sarroff said some ratepayers whose valuations had fallen substantially below the city average would receive a slightly lower rates bill but changes in land values had no affect on council coffers.

“The fluctuation in valuation does not have an impact on our revenue — the only difference this fluctuation in land values will make is between one ratepayer and another ratepayer,” said Cr Sarroff.

Multiple unit properties plunged an average of 17 per cent, in line with investors abandoning the sector at the height of the downturn.

On the other side of the ledger, the more affordable and land-rich areas of Coomera and Ormeau were the standout performers, recording hikes of 20 per cent and 15 per cent respectively, reflecting the increasing attractiveness of entry-level property over the past few years.

Land in Coomera now has a median value of $205,000, while in Ormeau it sits at $197,500.

The only other Gold Coast suburbs in positive territory were Arundel, Ashmore, Carrara, Highland Park, Merrimac, Molendinar, Nerang, Parkwood, Upper Coomera and Worongary, all of which had single-digit rises. The remaining suburbs had zero or negative growth.

Investors have buoyed the Gold Coast’s turbulent property market, with unit and townhouse sale prices increasing as first-home buyers drop out of the market.

The Coast bucked a statewide trend, which saw the number of townhouse and unit sales drop by 24 per cent across Queensland in the final quarter of 2009, according to the latest REIQ data.

The report also shows the number of sales under $500,000 fell by 28 per cent statewide between September and December.

But Gold Coast sale prices increased a modest 3.3 per cent in the quarter to record a median price of $380,000, indicating confidence is returning.

With 1417 sales recorded on the Gold Coast, REIQ Gold Coast zone chair John Newlands said the region remained a popular choice for southern investors unable to break into Melbourne or Sydney.

“We have bucked the trend and I put that down to people wanting to live here,” said Mr Newlands.

“The December quarter gain of 3.3 per cent, is a sign that things are on the up.

“As the market gets overheated in Sydney and Melbourne prices skyrocket, the Gold Coast has always, for the last 20 years, been a recipient of buyers looking interstate.

“People feel the market has reached a level that represents value for buyers to return to the marketplace.”

Paradise Point recorded the biggest loss, with the median property price dropping by 26.4 per cent to $364,500.

Hope Island fell 17.3 per cent to $430,000, while Mermaid Beach prices dropped 14 per cent to $317,500.

Carrara recorded a 28.7 per cent increase on median unit prices to $437,500, Coolangatta rose 17.3 per cent to $467,500, while Robina increased 12.1 per cent to $479,500.

Mr Newlands said the suburbs that had declined did not indicate property prices had dropped, but that people were buying at the mid-range of the market.

“It’s a supply and demand situation. Prices have definitely plateaued in the sub-$500,000 range,” he said.

“Many people are buying at below replacement costs, it can really only go one way … up.”

He said while rate increases may have affected buyers in other markets, most Gold Coast investors had factored subtle rate rises into their purchases.

“I predict we were going to start to see steady solid growth, I don’t think it will skyrocket,” he said.