The Sunshine Coast has overtaken Sydney to boast the most expensive luxury apartments in the country, as buyers chase lifestyle over status.
The median price for a unit in the coastal strip north of Brisbane is now a staggering $2.27m — eclipsing Sydney’s $2.23m, and the Gold Coast is not far behind at $2.13m.
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This unit at 2/10 Natasha Ave, Noosa Heads, is for sale.
A new report reveals Queensland’s prestige markets have surged faster than anywhere else in the nation over the past decade, with Brisbane’s luxury threshold price now $2.49m, just shy of Melbourne’s $2.58m — a gap that was once measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Luxury house prices on the Gold Coast have skyrocketed 152 per cent over the past decade, while the Sunshine Coast has jumped an extraordinary 159 per cent and Brisbane 133 per cent.
Brisbane has also edged ahead of Melbourne when it comes to unit prices, with a luxury unit threshold of $1.51m compared to the southern city’s $1.43m.
| QLD’S 10 MOST EXPENSIVE SUBURBS FOR LUXURY HOUSES | ||
| Main Beach – $3.86m | ||
| Surfers Paradise – North – $3.78m | ||
| New Farm $3.12m | ||
| Mermaid Beach – Broadbeach – $3.14m | ||
| Ascot – $2.96m | ||
| Newstead – Bowen Hills – $2.87m | ||
| Surfers Paradise – South – $2,83m | ||
| Hamilton – $2.75m | ||
| Hawthorne – $2.58m | ||
| Bulimba – $2.53m | ||
| Source: Ray White | ||
This four-bedroom house at 15 Rankin Pde, Main Beach, is on the market.
Ray White economist Atom Go Tian said it marked a remarkable reversal for markets that were once considered secondary to the southern capitals.
“The luxury market is no longer concentrated,” he said. “It is spreading into markets that would have been afterthoughts a decade ago.”
At the centre of Queensland’s surge is a new type of buyer — and a new definition of luxury.
This unit at 2/22 Stevens St, Sunshine Beach, is for sale.
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Mr Go Tian said today’s high-end purchasers were increasingly self-made, including tech entrepreneurs, founders and private equity players who built their wealth in industries that barely existed 20 years ago.
He said they were buying more for lifestyle than status, prioritising coastal living, space, and flexibility.
“In some cases, buyers are walking away from $45m Sydney mansions for $26m homes in Noosa — not as a downgrade, but as a deliberate lifestyle upgrade,” he said.
This property at 37 Hawthorne St, New Farm, has just hit the market with Damon Warat of Ray White Ascot.
| QLD’S 10 MOST EXPENSIVE SUBURBS FOR LUXURY UNITS |
| Noosa Heads – $1.75m |
| Currumbin Valley – Tallebudgera – $1.62m |
| Main Beach – $1.54m |
| Sunshine Beach – $1.35m |
| Paradise Point – Hollywell – $1.28m |
| Coolangatta – $1.25m |
| Burleigh Heads – $1.23m |
| Logan Village – $1.21m |
| Kenmore – $1.21m |
| Munruben – Park Ridge South – $1.2m |
| Source: Ray White |
Across Brisbane, the strength of the luxury market is also becoming more broad-based.
Inner-city precincts such as Newstead–Bowen Hills have surged to a $2.88m median after 11.2 per cent annual growth, while Ascot has reached $2.97m and Hamilton $2.76m.
New Farm leads for luxury house prices, with a median of $3.1m, according to the Ray White report.
On the Gold Coast, suburbs including Main Beach, Mermaid Beach–Broadbeach and Surfers Paradise have all recorded strong house price gains, with Main Beach now leading the state at $3.86m.
And, on the Sunshine Coast, Noosa Heads has the highest median luxury unit price at $1.75m, followed by Sunshine Beach at $1.35m.
This property at 76 Windermere Rd, Hamilton, has just hit the market with Damon Warat of Ray White Ascot.
Mr Go Tian said South East Queensland’s luxury property growth pattern mirrored what Perth was doing 12 months ago — a broad-based acceleration across multiple suburbs rather than isolated pockets.
“If that parallel holds, Queensland luxury is entering its most intensive growth phase,” he said.
The buyer profile across this year’s top transactions is predominantly domestic, compared to previous years where buyers had been linked to Singapore and China.
“What is clear is that Australia’s ultra-luxury market is being driven, first and foremost, by domestic wealth creation,” Mr Go Tian said.
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