Why density and delivery matters to downsizers on the Gold Coast: Urban Buyer Q&A

In the new development space, the smallest detail can impact whether a buyer goes with your development, or someone elses.

Milton Young, a Gold Coast local and a director at national scaffolding supplier BuildSafe, had been looking for his next home, nearer the coast, having sold the family home in Clear Island Waters earlier this year.

He'd narrowed his search to the sought-after southern pocket of the Gold Coast, near the surf and the growing hospitality scene.

"We were fairly late to the party on discovering the southern end of the Gold Coast," Milton said. 

"You're so protected from the winds of the Gold Coast, which makes beachfront living more attractive than some of the more northern suburbs."

Young was open to both the established and off the plan apartment market, but nothing he'd seen had felt quite right.

Having looked around Kirra, where almost every apartment had either a road or a park, or both, separating it from the beach, Milton opened the search north to Tugun and Bilinga.

While there are several boutique buildings under construction on Golden Four Drive, one of just two true beachfront streets in Bilinga, Pipis by SIERA stood out in particular, initially for the most unlikeliest of reasons.

"It was one of the cleanest building sites I'd seen," Milton said, adding that while it's not the be-all and end-all, what it told him was that both the developer and the builder were taking great care in every facet of the new development, and that would no doubt extend to the apartments.

"Something was happening there every day," Milton recalled.

"When you're dealing with buying off the plan, you have very little to physically take in, so anything you can see for yourself, is very important in the decision-making process. It gave me a high level of confidence."

Milton visited the display and was particularly impressed with the size of the apartments on offer, as well as the price, compared to some other developments, and the density of the building.

"The price per sqm rate is as good as you can get on the southern Gold Coast," Milton said.

"It can get to $30k plus in Kirra, Palm Beach or Burleigh. Pipis is closer to $14,000 per square metre. I couldn't look past that value proposition."

There will be just 19 apartments in Pipis, which was also a drawcard for Milton.

"With less than 20 apartments, you're not going to be constantly sharing a lift, or sharing the pool. I love the small details, like the lift opening right into your apartment."

Another bonus was that one of Milton's friends was doing the landscaping for Pipis, and spoke highly of both the developer and builder. They were also putting in extensive greenery in the building, more than competing projects on the beachfront.

On buying off the plan for the first time, Milton said paperwork, for any property transaction but particularly off the plan, can be daunting.

"Brad from Siera connected us with the solicitors handling the project, and everything went smoothly. We didn’t have to search for a new solicitor or worry about the paperwork. It was all taken care of as part of the buying process, which gave us confidence that we had chosen the right team."

Milton did his due diligence on Siera, who is part of the team, and what they'd delivered before, before purchasing a three-bedroom, half-floor apartment at Pipis.

Pipis, currently under construction through regarded builder LPS Group, is slated for completion in early 2025.

Milton took part in Urban's Buyer Q&A series which focuses on the driving factors behind buying off the plan property in Australia