Investors have a golden opportunity to reap the rewards of the Coast’s rising property market in the lead-up to the Brisbane Olympics.
The 2032 host city announcement delivered an immediate buzz to the three event zones — Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast — with the Games expected to inject $8bn in benefits to Queensland.
Local property experts tipped increased investor confidence on the back of infrastructure upgrades, with planned transport links including the Coomera Connector and extension of the light rail.
More than 2,600 athletes and team officials will be housed at the proposed satellite Athletes’ Village in Robina.
Real Estate Institute of QLD Gold Coast chairman Andrew Henderson said growth could be expected in many parts of the city, and not limited to suburbs closest to Olympic venues of Broadbeach, Benowa, Carrara, Coomera and Southport’s Broadwater Precinct.
“A large-scale event like the Olympics is going to stimulate significant growth for the Gold Coast, especially in any areas around construction or upgrades of infrastructure, such as the proposed rail stations at Merrimac, Pimpama and Helensvale, and also the length of the route along the light rail where you will be able to walk to stations all along the Gold Coast Highway from Mermaid Beach to Coolangatta,” Mr Henderson said.
The satellite Athletes’ Village would provide another housing solution for the region’s burgeoning population, if designed to meet the needs of future permanent residents, he said.
More than 2,600 athletes and team officials will be housed at the Athletes’ Village within the planned Collyer Quays residential development at Robina.
REA Group economist Cameron Kusher said: “Upgrades that improve the liveability and accessibility of a suburb are likely to be the most positive from a residential property perspective.”
“The major benefactors of the Olympics, from a property sense, are not likely to be linked to new venues. They will instead be areas that can tap into major infrastructure upgrades that may occur.”
Live in luxury in Carrara, close to Olympic venues for football, judo and wrestling. This mansion at 2 Witt Ave goes to auction on August 1 with Kollosche agent Sam Guo, who says the exclusive area is “somewhere to watch” ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Games.
Kollosche principal Michael Kollosche said the Games boon could add new fuel to the city’s post-Covid house-price boom.
“We can expect a lot more jobs and interstate migration for work if there is going to be more infrastructure to support the Games, and that will have a flow-on effect for the city’s economy,” Mr Kollosche said.
“When you look at the history of cities who have been awarded the games, most of them have had very strong growth leading up to those events, and I believe that would be something that could keep the property market quite stable even if other areas of the country were to cool off.”
Data following the Sydney Olympics in 2000 shows property prices rose as soon as the harbour city was announced as host in September 1993.
Median house prices rose more than 140 per cent over the next ten years, from $188,000 in 1993 to $454,250 in 2003.
But with the Brisbane Games still a decade away, Ray White Surfers Paradise director Andrew Bell said the market’s response to the pandemic remained the key influence on house prices.
Want front-row viewing of the Olympic beach volleyball at Broadbeach Park Stadium? This beachside apartment at 4/5-9 Broadbeach Blvd is marketed by Kollosche agents, Rob Lamb and Michael Kollosche, and goes under the hammer on August 4.
“I don’t expect some sudden surge of buyers greater than what we already have … but it is another factor that means we have a really good ten years ahead of us,” Mr Bell said.
“When we did the Commonwealth Games in 2018, everyone thought it would be the great white knight to bolster the Gold Coast, but we have so much going for us.
“[The Olympics] is another contributor, but it’s not a linchpin. It creates a big focus on the region and it will stimulate investment into the area, but that’s yet to be determined in any particular suburb,” he said.
Propertyology analyst Simon Pressley said Games hype could buoy the market for up to a year after the event. But broader economic factors had a far greater impact on house prices.
“The broader national economy at that time, credit policy, and monetary policy are key factors, while local housing supply, political stability and broader local economic conditions are among many micro factors,” Mr Pressley said.
“How property markets might perform in south-east Queensland in 7-12 years’ time is about as predictable as what might be happening on the South Pole.”
This Hamptons-style home at 668 Foxwell Rd, Coomera is close to the northern suburb’s Indoor Sports Centre where Olympic volleyball will be held. It’s for sale via an expressions of interest campaign with Patrick and Karen Donaldson, of Ray White.
Pundits could look to the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games – with the bulk of facilities to be used for the Olympics already in place from hosting the earlier event.
The Coast’s median house price was up 22 per cent in the five years ending 2019, a “middle-of-the-road performance” compared with other parts of Australia, Mr Pressley said.