A NEW suburb has emerged as the property market’s latest hotspot for house sellers and it isn’t by the beach.
The family-friendly suburb of Pacific Pines experienced a 43 per cent increase in the number of houses sold between 2014-15.
According to CoreLogic there were 253 house sales in 2014, rising to 362 the following year with the area coming behind Upper Coomera, which traditionally is first.
Homeowners are taking advantage of the surge in demand with some selling in a few days. Victoria and Glen Wood bought a four-bedroom house on Yamba St in 2014 and had multiple offers after the first open home recently through LJ Hooker Pacific Pines agent Tim Wolff.
The property, on a 910sq m block and comes with a swimming pool, went under contract after three days on the market.
“That’s how fast it moved. I had a good feeling it would be quick but I thought quick would be two weeks. I did not expect that,” Mrs Wood said.
The final price, which was around $530,000, was $10,000 more than the couple were asking. Mrs Wood said Pacific Pines was popular because it offered value for money.
“You can get a lot of house for the price,” she said.
“Initially I wanted to buy near the beach but that’s so expensive and you don’t get a nice place for the price.”
Mrs Wood said she planned to stay in the area and rent a property before buying again.
LJ Hooker Pacific Pines principal Pascal Pierre said houses were selling so quickly that some weren’t hitting the open market, with his agency handling 20 to 30 offmarket sales last year. “We’re finding the market is moving quicker and quicker and we’re even selling a whole bunch of properties offmarket. Prices are increasing and the majority of our properties are receiving multiple offers,” he said.
Mr Pierre said while he wouldn’t call it a “boom” market, it was one that favoured sellers and he expected further capital growth over the next 12 to 18 months.
CoreLogic figures show the median house sale price increased by 3.4 per cent to reach $481,000 last year.
Property analyst Terry Ryder singled out Pacific Pines as a market that was rising steadily in his Price Predictor Index Autumn 2016.
REIQ Gold Coast zone chairman John Newlands said the suburb’s affordability and increasing infrastructure were driving sales.
A $15-million Coles outlet is under construction and new netball courts have almost been completed at the Pacific Pines Community Centre.
“Affordability is driving sales and it has also been lagging behind the rest of the market and is catching up,” Mr Newlands said.
Original Publish: http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/