Gold Coast Apartment Prices take a breather, but supply shortage continues to support growth

WORDS: Ocean Road Editorial Staff PHOTOGRAPHY Supplied

The average price for new apartments on the Gold Coast fell to $1.84 million in the first quarter of 2025, and while there was also a welcome increase in supply, Urbis research has warned buyers that this doesn’t reflect a slowdown in market growth any time soon.

The latest weighted average sale price (WASP) for the preliminary March quarter compares with $2.027 million in the December quarter, yet it still remains one of the highest on record.

Urbis points out that new apartment prices on the Gold Coast are now 127 per cent higher than five years ago, with a supply shortage helping to maintain sales momentum.

“Despite the number of apartments available for sale in the March quarter increasing, the Gold Coast is still falling short of the number of new dwellings required every year to meet our housing targets,” said Urbis Director Paul Riga.

“The fall in the weighted average sale price in the latest quarter reflects the release of more affordable new apartments to the Gold Coast market, among them one-bedroom units that account for about a third of all sales during the quarter.”

The latest preliminary Urbis data reveals 209 sales of new apartments were recorded during the March quarter, with 144 of those in the Gold Coast Central Precinct, 62 in the Southern Beaches, one in the North Shore Precinct and two in the Coastal Fringe.

“We saw a significant increase in one-bedroom products during the latest quarter, with these sales accounting for 33 per cent of the total, which is the highest level since Urbis began monitoring the new apartment market,” said Mr Riga.

“One-bedroom apartment sales were driven by the launch of Maris in Southport, bringing to the market a much-needed, more affordable product, which in turn has had an overall impact on the weighted average sale price.”

Sales at Maris, which is being developed by Malaysian conglomerate MRCB, have been secured ahead of the official release of the project, signalling the ongoing strength of the Gold Coast, particularly for more affordable products.

Urbis data shows that Maris accounted for more than a third of the number of Gold Coast apartment sales during the quarter, with 80 sales leading to 42 per cent of the project being sold out. The average sale price achieved was $958,438.

In a breakdown of WASP by precinct, the Southern Beaches Precinct continues to attract a much higher figure than all other precincts and has done so since the third quarter of 2023, with an average price of $2.77 million recorded in the first quarter.

Some 62 per cent of sales across the Gold Coast during the quarter were priced at more than $ 1 million, with the remaining 38 per cent priced from $700,000 to $999,999.

In the Gold Coast Central Precinct, 47 per cent of sales were priced at $1 million and above, while Southern Beaches recorded 98 per cent of sales at more than $1 million.

Meanwhile, the supply of new apartments at the end of March increased to 1,702, from 1,299 at the end of the December quarter, on the back of larger-scale project launches in Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach and Southport over the last six months.

“Sales and supply continue to be dominated by the Gold Coast Central Precinct as all other precincts continue to be impacted by low levels of supply and therefore are recording lower sales rates,” said Mr Riga.

“Project completions also continue to slip with many that were expected to settle in 2024 now pushed to 2025, which will see around 2,440 apartments complete. This is well short of the 6,000 attached dwellings that are needed each year to hit our housing targets.”

Despite a recent lift in activity, the Gold Coast continues to fall well short of State housing targets. For detached homes, just 529 detached lots were registered in 2024, also below the SEQRP’s annual target range of 590 to 870.

City of Gold Coast Planning & Regulation Chair and Deputy Mayor, Cr Mark Hammel, said the data highlights the importance of increasing housing supply across all market segments.

“We’re seeing record sales of one-bedroom apartments, which clearly signals a strong demand for more affordable housing options,” said City of Gold Coast Planning & Regulation Chair and Deputy Mayor, Cr Mark Hammel.

“The only real way to bring prices down is to increase supply – and that means building more dwellings.

“It’s not just about apartments along our major coastal corridors. We also need more duplexes, townhouses, and other diverse housing types. We’ve recently seen some excellent examples of more affordable homes being delivered near our coast, where many people want to live, and I hope to see that momentum continue.

“But we can’t stop there. It’s vital that we encourage infill development and new housing in all directions — north, south, east and west – across our suburbs, CBD centres, and neighbourhoods.

“The work we’re doing on our Local Growth Management Strategy and new planning scheme has shown us that the community – especially younger residents – supports this kind of balanced, city-wide approach to growth.

“We’re expecting our population to grow by more than 300,000 people over the next 20 years, reaching 1 million residents by the mid-2040s. That growth must be shared across the whole city – not concentrated only along the coast – so we can drive prices down and keep the Gold Coast a liveable and affordable city for families for generations to come.”

Industry leaders say unlocking a broader mix of projects and streamlining approvals is now critical to avoid deepening the region’s housing shortfall.

Urbis also revealed that total new apartment sales declined in 2024 to 1,041, compared to 2023 which achieved 1,205 sales.

“However, considering the headwinds that were faced during 2024 were significant, this is a great result for the market,” said Mr Riga.