A surge in buying power, record-low housing supply and a booming local economy have set the stage for the Gold Coast to outperform Australia’s major property markets, a new report reveals.
The city was in the “early upswing phase” of the property cycle, with prices and rents rising rapidly off the back of a tightening supply pipeline, Kollosche’s Gold Coast Property Outlook Annual 2025 Report in partnership with analyst Michael Matusik found.
“A boost in buying power, paired with record-low housing supply, is the perfect recipe for a Gold Coast property boom,” Kollosche managing director Michael Kollosche said.
Prices are set to rise again, according to the annual update. Picture: Nigel Hallett
The report noted a “deeper structural shift” underway, underpinned by limited new housing stock, strong economic indicators and rising generational demand.
Among seven key indicators pointing to a local housing market boom were a surging population, with about 15,300 new residents moving to the region in 2024 — well above the decade average — on track to hit 825,000 by the 2032 Olympics.
Household incomes were also climbing, with the average gross income now sitting at $145,000 — five per cent above the Queensland average.
But the biggest pressure point remains housing supply.
Report author Michael Kollosche. Picture: Portia Large.
Resale house listings were sitting at just over four months’ supply, while stock for attached dwellings — including townhouses and apartments — was down to 3.6 months.
The rental market was even tighter, with fewer than 940 homes available for lease and a vacancy rate of just 1.3 per cent. The report noted the Gold Coast had been “under-supplied since 2021”.
Despite an annual need for 6,500 new homes, delivery had fallen well short.
Some 42,000 approved apartments and townhouses remained unbuilt — a result of soaring construction costs and a shortage of skilled trades.
Supply is the biggest issue
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The cost of building a new apartment hit $10,000 per sqm, making many projects unviable.
Olympics-linked construction activity is expected to further exacerbate the trade shortage.
The Gold Coast economy, now worth $45b, continued to expand, supported by more than $3.1b in commercial approvals in 2023 and a pipeline of more than 50 major infrastructure, health, education and residential projects.
The city was now Australia’s sixth largest urban population, fourth largest domestic tourism market and ninth largest regional economy.
Median house prices were sitting at $1.2m, closing the gap on Sydney’s $1.4m median and cementing the city’s position as one of the nation’s leading property markets.
Gold Coast house prices are now just $200,000 below Sydney
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