The lightbulb moment in a year of infamy.
IF SOMEONE had told me in February Media Hunt would launch more than $1.5 billion in new residential projects across South East Queensland in 2020, I would have laughed.
As the worst pandemic in a century crept across the globe, we all held our collective breaths as world leaders used language such as ‘the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression’ to hammer home how dire our predicament was.
Little did we realise that the March lockdowns across the country would actually be the catalyst for a transformation that – on the Gold Coast at least – would usher in arguably the biggest residential property boom the city has ever seen.
It’s almost as if Covid was a ‘lightbulb’ moment. People had the time to take stock of their lives.
Where do I want to be, what do I want to be doing? What are my goals, and what are my aspirations? Am I happy with the status quo, and what do I need to change?
Well, change things did.
In April I spoke to our client George Mastrocostas, and he was one of the first to point to an extraordinary event that was taking place – sight unseen buying.
His Aniko Group had just received three signed contracts from interstate buyers wanting to relocate to Queensland.
These purchasers could not get across the sealed borders to inspect what they were buying in his $140 million 1 Grant Avenue project at Hope Island.
Around the same time Serenity 4212, the city’s leading waterfront land estate nearby, started to report massive selling activity from predominantly local buyers.
Soon after the middle of the year, Serenity was reporting $55 million in sales.
It was even forced to ‘hold’ some blocks just for interstate buyers when they could eventually arrive in Queensland.
At Burleigh Heads, Brisbane based Spyre Group launched its $77 million Natura apartments on the booming Burleigh Esplanade – 25 of the 33 apartments were sold by the end of launch weekend.
Cru Collective’s Chris Bolger reported three ‘sight unseen’ sales in his luxury Siarn apartments under construction at Palm Beach – all for more than $2.5 million and one to an Aussie expat stuck in Florida in the midst of Covid who bought over FaceTime.
At the end of June on the southern Gold Coast, Brisbane based developer Paul Gedoun lodged a development application for a superb site overlooking the famed Snapper Rocks at Rainbow Bay.
In less than five months, his innovative $74 million Flow Residences was sold out at an average price of $3.5 million.
It is the fastest selling luxury apartment project in Australia.
Buoyed by the downsizer phenomenon that was upon us, KTQ Group headed by Peggy Flannery – renowned for the game-changing Elements of Byron – announced plans to launch the first stage of its $380 million Kirra Beach Hotel re-development.
As we went to press, and prior to the December 27 launch of the 118 apartment Miles Residences, more than 1000 inquiries had been secured, a quarter from interstate.
Such is the strength of the downsizer market that Paul Gedoun has also purchased the Dbah Café site overlooking Point Danger and plans to secure sales through some buyers who missed out on Flow.
2020 will be remembered globally as the year of the pandemic. It has been a terrible event for many countries.
On the Gold Coast, it will be remembered as the year we came of age as a residential destination desired by people all over Australia and around the world.
Originally published by Cove Magazine – Issue 82
Article by Steve Hunt (Media Hunt), January/ February, 2021
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