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Welcome to the Gold Coast Smart Real Estate Podcast. I'm Brad Scott, here to help you make smart moves in the Gold Coast property market. Whether you're thinking of buying, selling, or just staying updated, we deep dive into everything you need to know. From our market insights to our unique open offers method of sale.
A blend of auction and private treaty to give you the best of both worlds. Let's jump in.
Hello and welcome back to the Smart Real Estate podcast where we bring you up to the minute insights to help you navigate the property market right here on the Gold Coast. I'm Adam Bell and today we're doing a deep dive into the latest market update because if you've been paying attention, you'll know things are changing fast.
Interest rates. Buyer demand and property prices are all shifting, and whether you're a buyer, seller, or investor, understanding the market right now is the key to making smart decisions. Joining me as always, Brad Scott, Principal of Smart Real Estate here on the Gold Coast. Brad, let's get into it. What's the big headline in the market right now?
Yeah, so we've seen a big shift, Adam, especially in the last sort of quarter since the new year. We saw a bit of a, uh, a big decline in the local Gold Coast market on the buyer side. They were sort of really pulling back, being a bit hesitant, not sure what was happening with interest rates and moving forward.
Then come after January, there was a real push to buyers coming back in with confidence. So I think A lot were predicting and thinking that interest rates would decrease. Yep. I wasn't quite sure it was going to happen. No, I think we spoke about that in one of the previous episodes. So, um, we did get that quarter of a percent, uh, reduction, which was good.
And What month was that? Was that February? Yeah, so February. So, we've seen really strong demand over the last, like, two, three months particularly. Okay. Back in the market. So, you're saying that prices are rising, stabilising, softening, it's a bit of anyone's guess at the moment, isn't it? Yeah, so it depends on like what you're buying.
If you're, you know, buying or selling like houses or units, they're two very different markets. Right, okay. Different trends happening with those. Yeah, we're seeing the units definitely not being as strong as houses with land. Yep. You know, we've had some great Southport, Labrador, three bedroom houses, four bedroom houses.
You know, good size blocks of land, 600, 800 square meters. Yep. Very, very strong, very popular. Definitely seeing price increases in that sort of property type. Okay. Conversely, with units. Units have still been going okay, some better than others. Mm hmm. But definitely not as strong as the Sure. So what's, what's driving this trend?
We did have that one interest rate reduction. Yeah. And again, everyone's now debating what's, what's going to happen going forward, whether any more, whether that's it. So, or even potentially going the other way. What's, how much is interest rates having an impact on what you're seeing happening? Yeah, surprisingly more than I was expecting.
So I think there's been a lot of uncertainty with the market, with buyers sort of deciding when to pull the trigger and what's happening. There seems to be a clear, clear ethos from buyers that it's time to get back in now because the whole inflationary cycle seems to have. You know, ridden out the wave, we've now kind of, it appears as though that's now sort of bottomed down and we can, we know that with interest rates going down and it's sort of a good time to get back into the market, you know, as that cycle has now alleviated and we move on to the next cycle.
Sure. Now we've got an election coming up, not too far away. I think it's got, it's May at the latest, I think, from, from memory. Yeah. What does that do to a So historically, you know, I've been selling real estate on the Gold Coast for almost 20 years. You've been through a few elections there. Been through a few elections and what we'll generally see is a little bit of softening.
In the lead up to the election, generally about three or four weeks before. It's just a bit softer and as we, most likely going to have a May election I think. Seasonally to through winter, it will be lower demand seasonally for every winter through the Gold Coast. So, you have high demand when the warm, when we have warmer weather as you go into spring and summer.
Yep. And the buyer demand sort of drops off as you go into winter. So. With the compound effect of going into winter with an election, we're probably going to start to see, you know, April may be a little bit softer months on the demand side. Yep. And, uh, a lot of people unfortunately just wait to see what happens with the election and who wins, whether it's Labor or Liberal.
My personal view is it shouldn't make any difference. Mate, I talk about this in all markets, not just property. Why does an election make people stop? Yeah, I mean, life goes on, but you know, obviously depending on which party it is, consumer sentiment and confidence from, you know, business will definitely be swayed to one side versus the other.
So I can understand that thinking, but at the end of the day, with residential, we all need a roof over our heads. So people are still buying, people are still selling. The market will still continue, regardless of what's happening with cyclones or elections. Life goes on. So I personally wouldn't be, if I was a buyer, it would be actually a really good buying opportunity.
in April and May because it will be a bit softer. Yep. And that's, as a buyer, that's when you want to be buying, when you don't have as much competition. Right now, you know, in that sort of February, March, great time to be selling. And I think the astute sellers are, you know, sort of the ones that are ahead of the game and can sort of see the writing on the wall.
They're getting on the market now and selling now because they can sort of forecast and see maybe April and May might be a bit slower. I want to get settlement done before that April. Get it sold now. You might get an extra. 50, 000, selling a bit sooner than waiting until mid year. Right. Some good advice there, so potentially just that little dip over that time, winter, winter and, and the election.
What are investors doing at the moment? How are, how are they seeing the market? And are we still getting a lot coming up, you know, buying from, buying up from down south? Yeah, so we're starting to see there's a lot, the stats are showing there's a lot of migration from Melbourne particularly, especially with the investment because the local Victorian government are making it quite difficult at the moment for the investor market.
So a lot of those investors are leaving. Victoria in droves, and a lot of that we see with stats that a lot of that money is flowing up to, um, Queensland and particularly the Gold Coast. Mostly because we've got good rental yields here, so we're sort of getting 5, 5. 5 percent rental yield on average, compared to with Melbourne you might be getting 3%.
So, there's an inverse relationship with return on investment and capital growth, generally. Yep. But the good thing with the Gold Coast is because of the lifestyle factors here, we see good capital growth here, along with good return on investment, good gross yields. Yep. So there's a lot of money flowing into the Gold Coast from the investor market.
Fantastic. Okay, so you've talked, talked about what's sort of happening between houses and units. Yeah. You obviously cover the whole of the Gold Coast, do you see different pockets and different areas doing different things and different trends happening, you know, throughout different regions? Yeah, so the good thing is like because I'm not specialised in one particular suburb, there are agents that specialise in certain suburbs and that's good.
They've become the local area expert for that suburb. We sort of do the entire Gold Coast. So I guess we don't sort of have our blinkers on and just focused on that one. So, but we get to see what different pockets and different areas are doing. So at the moment we're seeing quite a bit of traction, bit of activity, especially around the central suburbs.
Okay, yep. The more established suburbs like, you know, Benoa, Ashmore, Labrador, Southport, we're seeing a lot of buy demand in those areas right now. Also Mullundina, there's been a lot of demand. And then as you move further out, a little bit less so, more investors out when you're going up into your sort of Coomera, Pimpermar area.
Yep. More of an investor type market. A lot of strong, you know, buy demand for house and land. You know, central suburbs like family friendly areas around schools, shopping centres, stuff like that. What about supply then for different areas on the Gold Coast? Are you seeing different trends there with what's, what's available, what's coming on?
Yeah, so supply has had a bit of a rocky road. So as we've talked about previously, the first sort of half of the last year in 24, there was a huge shortage of demand, like shortage of supply of properties hitting the market. Yep. And that sort of conversely kept prices pretty stable. Then come in September, we had a flood of properties hit the market, probably had a little bit of a, a sort of bit of a decline and buyers were sort of pulling back.
Yep. In that last quarter, uh, of 24. Now into 25 in the first quarter, we're starting to see Buy demand's much stronger and as far as listings, I would say they're sort of stable. I wouldn't say we're getting, you know, a lot hit the market like we did in September, October. But at the same time, I don't think we're sort of on that shortage side.
I'd say it's sort of neutral. Sure. Yeah. Okay. Three key things then to, to finish us out here on this market update, which where we're at right now towards the end of March. What's your, your biggest bit of advice for buyers right now? Buyers I'd say, you know, look at, look at getting your finances in place.
Look at buying in April, May. There's going to be some good opportunities out there, especially because you're going to have less competition from other buyers in the marketplace. So When you have less buys in the market, that's when you want to be buying. So take advantage of those softer times in the winter and elections and stuff like that.
Also, I was talking to a few people, because of the cyclone we've had recently, a few people have suggested that it might take the Gold Coast a little bit of time to recover from that. I don't think it really will. I think we'll have it all. pretty quickly, but again, it's not up to me. It's up to market sentiment and what most people are.
Of course. So. All right, biggest bit of advice for sellers right now, sellers, I'd be looking at getting your house on the market sooner rather than later. Definitely like in that sort of March or start of April, I wouldn't be leaving it too close to the election. So, again, you're going to see probably lower demand, I would suggest, in May.
So, the sooner you can get on the market, probably the more money you're going to get. Sure. And you'd expect that upturn again, sort of, once winter's through and once the election's all dusted? Yeah, once the election's finished, we sort of normally see things get back to normal. Within two to three weeks after the election, things sort of get back to normal.
So, we're, we're Rounding out the first quarter, give me your predictions for the, and I'm going to put you on the spot, you've been doing it 20 years, your predictions for the, for the last three quarters of 2025, what's going to happen? What's going to happen? Gold Coast market overall. I'll just pull out my crystal ball and look into it.
Tell me how much is interest rates going to drop? I don't think we'll see a huge, I think we'll probably see another, you know, one or two interest rate decreases over the, you know, the next nine months or so. Uh, as my personal prediction, but as far as the market, I think it'll be relatively stable. Like I don't think we're going to see a boom or a bust.
I think there'll be, yeah, I think it'll be a, we'll have a bit of a dip in the middle and we'll probably have a strong end to 2025. Fantastic. Well, look, that really is a pretty solid market update. One thing is clear, whether you're buying or selling understanding that the current conditions can make a huge difference to your strategy and results.
Brad, thanks for breaking it all down for us and if anyone wants to stay ahead of the market and get expert advice on buying or selling, what's the best way to get in touch with you? They can either send me an email to brad at smartrealestate. com. au, give me a call on 0408 338 605 or just have a look at the website smartrealestate.
com. au. Fantastic. And look, that's a wrap for this episode of the Smart Real Estate Podcast. If you found this valuable, make sure you follow, leave a review, and share it with anyone else navigating the property market right here, right now on the Gold Coast. We look forward to seeing you next time on the Smart Real Estate Podcast.
Thanks very much, Brad. Thanks Adam. Thanks for tuning into the Gold Coast Smart Real Estate Podcast. Remember, if you're thinking of selling, Be smart. Explore your options and consider the power of open offers method of sale to maximize your result. Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.
And if you found today's insights helpful, feel free to share with a friend. Until next time, happy house hunting.