Why it's all about Broadbeach...still

Two and a half years ago, when I was looking at the Broadbeach market in particular, I wrote a piece looking at the Broadbeach market.

"Why it's all about Broadbeach in 2022," was the article headline.

Fast forward to the present, and it's still all about Broadbeach. The fundamentals haven't changed, and interest in the market has continued from both developers and buyers.

Broadbeach has everything, from the famous Gold Coast beach to the amenity of the new Star Casino and the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. 

During 2021 and 2022, the suburb gained immense popularity among interstate investors, with inquiries from those seeking off the plan apartments from New South Wales and Victoria exceeding 40 per cent, data from MatterFact, Urban's new data product, showed.

While enquiry has declined from the peaks when the southern states were in and out of lock down, Broadbeach is still consistently one of the most enquired on suburbs across the Gold Coast on Urban.com.au.

Now local owner-occupiers dominate the market, while first home buyers are acting quickly to secure the first release of apartments knowing they're in competition for the entry level apartments with a still higher than normal interstate investor audience.

First home buyers now make up less than a fifth of the Broadbeach market given the huge price growth during the pandemic.

Data gathered from property data analytics firm, CoreLogic, showed the rolling annual growth from September 2020 jumped from 3.3 per cent to 37.2 per cent in September 2021. It remained well above 30 per cent until early 2022 when growth started to cool.

While declines were felt for just a few months in 2023 when nationally the country was going through a correction due to interest rate increases, growth has again picked up, with the rolling annual growth now stable between 10 and 15 per cent over 2024.

Barry Morris' Morris Property Group has known the draw of Broadbeach for nearly three decades. It was in the 1990s when Morris delved into Broadbeach. Now they're delivering their 10th and 11th projects in the suburb, with only a handful outside of the suburb over the last 25 years.

"Buyers love Broadbeach because it offers beachside living with metropolitan amenities, which is what the market is after," Morris told Urban back in 2022.

Morris has waited until they've nearly completed construction before launching Malo Broadbeach, just 16 half-floor apartments near the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The launch of Malo comes hot on the heels of success from Crest Broadbeach nearby. Launched late last year, Crest, which comprises 182 two and three-bedroom apartments, has sold well over half of its apartments and recently kicked off construction through their in-house building arm.

There's no chance of Morris slowing down in Broadbeach either, however it's becoming more difficult to acquire a development site in the small 1.4 square kilometre suburb perfectly positioned between the bustling Surfers Paradise and the quieter Mermaid Beach.

They do have another tower lined up to launch before the end of the year.

Similar to Malo, Maison Broadbeach at 22 Chelsea Avenue, will comprise just 18 three-bed apartments across a 20-level building.

It was the draw Broadbeach that lured Sydney billionaire Sam Aranout's Iris Capital to the Gold Coast. They spent a reported $58 million on the landmark Niecon Plaza in 2021.

Not many developers can boast a $1 billion-plus development as their first in many states. Of course, Iris has a huge pedigree in both the residential development and hotel market. They're behind the $1 billion Newcastle placemaking development, East End, and own a string of hotels across the country.

Victoria & Albert, or V&A as it's been more commonly referred to, comprises just over 400 apartments across two towers in the heart of Broadbeach.

The towers will have some of the most amenity ever produced on the Gold Coast, with a 25-metre lap pool, a fully equipped gym, a yoga deck and a resident’s lounge. The podium will also feature a children’s area, a Zen garden, and an outdoor dining and barbecue area adorned with lush green landscape.

Residents will sit above, and have direct access to, the full commercial precinct that will occupy the ground and podium levels and will home a suite of hand-selected retailers.

Mosaic Property, one of South East Queensland's most prominent builder developers, is approaching completion of its two Broadbeach apartment developments, Marella and Lily, the debut apartment towers by Mosaic in Broadbeach.

When speaking to Mosaic CEO Brook Monahan in 2022, he said there's a lot of nostalgia with Broadbeach for a lot of residents in South East Queensland.

"It's a very nostalgic place for a lot of people who would have come to Broadbeach and holidayed as kids," Monahan says, adding that the walkability factor puts Broadbeach ahead of other Gold Coast suburbs.

"You can walk to 75 coffee shops/resultants, the light rail, or the surf club in minutes, as well as being on the doorstep of Pacific Fair shopping centre and the casino, which makes it one of the most appealing areas up and down the coast."

The Broadbeach apartment development pipeline is possibly not as large as it was in 2022, but there are several major developments coming up.

Amalgamated Property Group and joint venture partner Base Developments are preparing to launch its second Broadbeach development, Affinity Broadbeach, following the success of Amaya Broadbeach on First Avenue, around 700 metres away from the new project.

Amaya, under construction and slated for completion next year, features 120 apartments and is 95 per cent sold.

Affinity Broadbeach will follow a similar footprint, with 185 two and three-bedroom apartments, also designed by DBI.

The recreational amenities for residents will be situated on the fourth level, offering a range of facilities such as a swimming pool, residents' lounge, community living area with barbecue and outdoor dining space, gardens, gym, sauna, and a yoga/meeting room. 

The Abedian family, who founded Sunland, is set for its first Broadbeach development having secured two side-by-side sites on Mary Avenue, opposite the Broadbeach State School.

Now under their new private family development company, Arium, bought the amalgamated 1,518 sqm site across 14-18 Mary Avenue that had been earmarked for Eternity, the second Broadbeach tower by Leo Sarris's Bassar Group following on from their nearby completed project Infinity. Then they bought the 600 sqm next door at 20 Mary Avenue from Little Projects, creating a development site of over 2,100 sqm.

Since Urban revealed the purchase back in April, Arium is yet to reveal what it's doing with the site. A few weeks later, Urban again revealed another site purchase, also in Broadbeach.

They secured a 516 sqm site at 11 Anne Avenue from the Brisbane-based Di Carlo Property Group, who had approved plans for a 17-level tower with 15 full-floor, four-bedroom apartments.