Sunshine & Gold Coast

[Rif-Raf]

Would you invest in an apartment in these locations? There's some appeal to having an investment that you may want to use yourself from time to time.
Anyone care to share thoughts as to whether this is a good idea

[Halebop]

Personally I'd invest where I thought the best returns could be made and holiday where I wanted to holiday. So guess it depends on your view of South East Queensland real estate (and the eventual outcome!) and the relative value you could pick one up for.

[moe]

If you are looking at a unit in a big building, take note of the management fees associated. Some places with pool's, lifts or onsite manager can sting you bigtime.

Growth wise you probably could not find a better area in Australasia based on last weeks OZ statistics (Census?)that were released by the ABS.

[Eddie]

An acquaintance recently invested in one of these "site-unseen" properties that was touted as being on the Gold Coast.
It turned out that it is in decidedly down-market south Brisbane.
I examined a presentation from a salesman in ChCh and considered,amongst other negatives, that the property was over-valued (by the agent's recommended valuer of course!)
My mate is exploring his legal options - and not using the agent's recommended lawyer this time.
Too little control by off-shore-us, and in an industry infected by crooks put me and other local speculators off.

[shasta]

Has anyone heard the recent radio adverts re investing in Queenslands fast growing residential areas?

They state "no deposit" (might have been $1000 down max), & would only require $50pw top up to cover costs.

They are anticipating property increases of 30 - 40% in the next 12 months...

As the property market supposedly slows, i guess we will see more of this direct kind of marketing to get people into the market & keep it going.

I have no personal interest in the property market, but as it's the Kiwi way to wealth i thought i'd mention it & see if anyone was involved in it or thinking about it?

[moe]

Its gotten to the stage in Brisbane that if you're looking to rent a unit you can expect to be competing with 15-20 people to get it.

I have heard of some landlords basically auctioning off their leases to whoever will pay the most rent. This of course is illegal but is becoming common as more people get desperate.

[boatie]

I have been over there (Qld) a bit on business lately. Comments are : Surfers looks pretty tired/touristy/teenage. A bit Queen St. Housing developments booming in numbers along the Surfers to Brisbane motorway - places like Coomera are quite amazing. This is suburban living/ commute to Brisbane or Surfers. But there is plenty of land. State is growing strongly so most areas OK in long term. If buying for investment I'd say within commute to Brisbane. If for holiday, pick your most liked area. Main Beach (north of Surfers) is pleasant. For longer term I would look at Coolangatta/Tweed - it has the Airport.

[lakedaemonian]

quote:Originally posted by shasta

Has anyone heard the recent radio adverts re investing in Queenslands fast growing residential areas?

They state "no deposit" (might have been $1000 down max), & would only require $50pw top up to cover costs.

They are anticipating property increases of 30 - 40% in the next 12 months...

As the property market supposedly slows, i guess we will see more of this direct kind of marketing to get people into the market & keep it going.

I have no personal interest in the property market, but as it's the Kiwi way to wealth i thought i'd mention it & see if anyone was involved in it or thinking about it?

If property increases of 30-40% were anything approaching likely, wouldn't the sprukers be hoarding the units themselves, rather than trying to pawn them off on their poor Kiwi cousins?

My thoughts on new construction holiday location units is the same as new car sales:

Never, ever buy new..let the first moron take the massive residual value hit.....then, only then consider buying.

Personally, I like the Gold and Sunshine Coasts and I think they are great places to holiday or live if so inclined.

[fihr]

I've got a property on the Sunshine Coast (Coolum Beach), and I haven't heard any predictions of 30-40% growth. Growth rates like that can't be predicted on an annual basis. If you want property price predictions for Australian real estate, check out Residex (you can Google it), but you have to buy the report. Worth it if you are seriously thinking of buying. Don't buy anything new. The Gold Coast is famous for its white shoe brigade. They come and go there with every property cycle. I used a buyers agent to buy mine. We decided when we bought that the cost of doing this was less than the cost of flying around doing our own research. He was excellent. Got the place for 10% less than it was worth in a great location, then it rented for 15% more than he had thought it would. Very useful as the market then went downhill and we could have sold without a loss if we'd needed to, including stamp duty. Now we could definitely sell at a reasonable profit. The market does seem to be going up now, but the increases seem to be in the order of 5 to 8% per annum. The agent also warned us off some areas in Brisbane that we thought looked good, and now in hindsight he was right. The other areas in Brisbane that would have been good at the time were out of our price bracket.

[lakedaemonian]

could you please list the good and bad of Brisbane you mentioned please Fihr

thanks.

Yes please!

I'd be keen to hear the perspective of a Kiwi owning property in Queensland.

I'm not looking to buy now or even soon....but long-term my family and I are keen to purchase a property there to escape winter.