While Qld-based Sherpa Property Group is no stranger to the Gold Coast, quarterly data from Urbis which reveals a more than doubling in apartment sales (470) compared with the June quarter (200), has only galvanised the developer’s commitment to exploring new opportunities on the glitter strip.

Having undertaken 11 projects on the Gold Coast in the past six years, Sherpa has snapped up what it considers to be three of the best sites available in the Gold Coast region, these include:

  • A 1710 sqm site at 107 Stanhill Drive, Chevron Island: Pegged for a luxury riverfront project and would be added to Sherpa’s Perspective brand.
  • A 915 sqm site at Labrador: Earmarked as a small-lot subdivision.
  • A 17 ha site at Terranora for future residential projects: Planned as a large-lot subdivision.

All three projects are in the planning stages and a development application (DA) is expected to be lodged for the Chevron site by the end of 2023.

Poised for remarkable growth

In light of the recent litany of Qld-based construction company collapses – including the likes of Porter Davis, Oracle Building Corporation and GCB Constructions – Sherpa founder Christie Leet is keen to consolidate the company’s reputation as a developer-of-choice for discerning buyers of high-end luxury residential offerings.

“We’re very bullish on the Gold Coast market,” he said.

“We believe and have long held the belief that the Gold Coast is poised for remarkable growth in the years to come… apartment sales have increased, and stock levels have decreased—we are keen to fill that void,” he said.

…and Palm Beach makes a dozen

Following modifications to its original plans to satisfy environmental objections, Sherpa is about to proceed with 32-apartment code-assessable development for its 1583 sqm Palm Beach site at 949-953 Gold Coast Highway.

Marking the developer’s 12th project on the Gold Coast, the Palm Beach site will house a nine-storey apartment building with two half-floor penthouses.

The Palm Beach development follows on the heels of Sherpa’s Perspective Broadwater project, Perspective on Albatross at Mermaid Beach, and the company’s latest project, Perspective Nexus Palm Beach.

Is property price growth sustainable?

Highlighting the insatiable demand for Gold Coast property, PropTrack data shows house prices along the coastal strip have surged 96.3% over the past eight years.

While the group’s head of economic research Cameron Kusher doesn’t expect that to be repeated over the coming decade, one real estate agent isn’t so sure.

Research by PRD Real Estate suggests Gold Cost house prices would more than double by 2030, surpassing Australia’s current most expensive city of Sydney by more than $200,000, and Melbourne by $622,000.

Based on market growth from 2012 to 2022, during which time house prices on the Gold Coast held an average annual return of just under 10%, PRD expects unit prices to hit $978,000 by 2030 (average annual return of 5.8%).

Despite strong price growth for existing homeowners, Real Estate Institute of Queensland Gold Coast zone chair Andrew Henderson says the city’s continued growth is contingent on the supply of new affordable housing.

 

Image: The Stanhill Drive, Chevron Island site acquisition.